


Eating Habits

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Series: The Lucky One [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Food Issues, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Romance, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-01-27 05:30:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 40,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21386902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: Things have never looked better for Adrien and his girlfriend, Marinette. Adrien has been living happily on his own, with frequent visits to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Marinette is about to enter a design university and already has a thriving online store. Gabriel Agreste is serving a 184 year long sentence (92 on good behavior). Yes, it looks like its all turned out wonderfully for them in the last six years.Now, if only Adrien could convince Marinette to take things easy, everything would be just perfect...(While this is the third part in the series, you can skip the first two parts without missing much besides soft fluff)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste & Chloé Bourgeois & Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi
Series: The Lucky One [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1478504
Comments: 419
Kudos: 473





	1. Anniversary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to the third part of the Lucky One series! This part is going to be significantly longer than the previous two parts, but no less fun and fluffy. I will be posting twice a week every week until it is finished. Enjoy!

Adrien glanced at the clock. Still an hour or two to go before their date for the anniversary, but now was as good a time as any to stop. He slowed down and turned off the treadmill. Just because there wasn’t any supervillains left to fight didn’t mean he should let himself get out of shape, after all. Or maybe it wasn’t so much his superhero instincts as his super_model_ instincts.

Either way, the highlights of both those careers were behind him, even if he could still technically be called both.

After getting changed back into his street clothes, Adrien stepped out of the gym and made his way home to take a shower. Or at least, what counted as his home for now. The apartment he lived in was fancier than what Marinette was used to, but it was still a big downgrade from the manor that he had spent his childhood in. He preferred it this way though - there was more life with a few neighbors around, and less space meant less that he had to fill. Besides, he wasn’t there a lot so it didn’t matter much anyway.

A shower, fresh change into nice clothes, some expensive cologne, half an hour making his hair the perfect balance of messy and styled, some extra cheese to keep Plagg fat and lazy, and he was out the door again. 

No, the place where he _really_ spent most of his time was where he was headed now - the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The place had practically become his real home years ago. Not long after he started dating Marinette, as a matter of fact. Tom and Sabine weren’t his in-laws… yet. But he was sure they would be someday. In the meantime, they treated him as one of their own, with all the love and affection he never had before. 

He almost walked past a flower shop without going inside. Almost. On the bright side, he did refrain from buying Marinette a whole bouquet of flowers. But only because she was very insistent that she was running out of space for them all. Between his lack of impulse control and her green thumb, her small room over the bakery was becoming more like a greenhouse than a bedroom. Instead, he settled for just one flower. 

The bakery smelled as delicious and wonderful as it had every day he’d ever gone there. He’d gotten the scent of bread and sweets so associated with the place that just a whiff was enough to make his heart soar. The bell above the door alerted them to his arrival. 

Sabine smiled at him as he approached and they shared cheek kisses. “Oh, hello, sweetheart! It’s wonderful to see you again!” She said it was such feeling that Adrien had never doubted her, even if it was always the first thing she said to him every time they saw each other. “Will you be coming over for dinner again this weekend?”

“Of course, maman! How could I refuse such a delicious meal?”

“Is that Adrien?” A man’s booming voice shouted from the kitchen in the back. Tom emerged, a wide grin on his face and flour all over him as he walked toward Adrien.

Adrien’s eyes widened and he held up his hands. “Wait, I-” But it was too late. Tom had picked him up in a great big bear huge and he was lifted so high that his feet dangled off the ground. 

“Oh, sorry, son!” Tom had the decency to look down abashedly at the mess he’d made of Adrien’s nice clothes, which were now spotted with flour.

“Don’t worry, papa. This won’t take me long to fix. I got here plenty early,” Adrien flashed a quick smile up at Tom. “Actually, is Marinette here? I could probably use her help.”

“Sure, sure.” Tom waved a hand toward the back door leading into their home. “She’s probably working in her room as we speak.”

He smiled and waved at the both of them before heading upstairs, feeling just like the fourteen year old boy who’d visit after school years ago. He opened her trapdoor and sure enough, there she was. So lost in her commissions that she hadn’t gotten ready for their date yet. Which also meant she hadn’t noticed him yet, and he got to bask in her ‘focus face’ - tongue slightly out, nose scrunched, eyes narrowed - for a little while longer. 

While he would’ve been fine missing their reservation if it meant watching her work for a little longer, alas, she eventually noticed him. She fell backwards with a squawk and he rushed forward to give her a hand up.

“Adrien what are you-” She winced. “It’s today, isn’t it?”

He nodded patiently.

“...How long have you been watching?”

“Long enough to remember all over again just how adorable you are.”

She groaned. “I was making the _face_ again wasn’t I?”

He kissed the hand he had taken to help her up. “Precious as always.” He held out the flower he had bought for her, a white tulip. “For you, my lady.”

Her eyebrows scrunched up, but the tension left her face almost immediately as she smelled the flower. She smiled up at him. “My favorite.”

“A tulip for your two lips?” He leaned down and closed his eyes.

“Oh my God, Adrien,” she said, laughing. “Okay, fine, but only because you went through all that effort.” She pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did. She pulled away and seemed to notice his suit for the first time. A twinkle of mirth shone in her eyes. “I see papa got a little too excited to see you again.”

“Nothing new there.” He shrugged. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help a poor boy out…?”

“Sure, just give me a minute to get changed.”

“No problem,” Adrien sat down on her well worn chaise and made no secret of watching her.

“Adrien…”

“Hm…?”

“Downstairs, sunshine.” She sternly pointed at the trapdoor. “I’ll call you back up when I’m ready.” Pouting, he paused every other step to shoot a pleading look at her over his shoulder. Eventually she got tired of him and pushed him forward, laughing. “_Go_, you tomcat!”

Adrien stepped outside her bedroom and sat on the stairs. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time and double checked his reservation. They still had half an hour to get there and it was close by. Plenty of time. After a few minutes of listening to rustling clothing, the door was opened above him and he walked back in. 

“What do you think?”

Adrien’s eyes roved over her light summer dress and its pastel colors. He cupped her cheek with a soft smile.

“As beautiful as ever, lovebug.” He stepped back and offered his arm. “Ready to go?”

She giggled and gestured to his suit. “Forgetting something?” 

A glance down reminded him of the flour. “Ah, right. I think I remember you promising me a hand?

After a quick clean up, they walked arm in arm out of the bakery and to their favorite restaurant. 

\----------------

The night was already going well with good food and a pleasant buzz from their drinks. Conversation was flowing between them, mostly one-sided as Marinette filled him in on everything that had happened since the last time they’d gotten to chat freely the week before. More commissions. Her last shifts at the bakery. Which brought her to the reasons she’d been saving so much money in the first place.

“...So I found an apartment.”

Adrien smiled as he poured both of them another glass of wine. “I can’t wait to see it. How close is it to your university?”

“That’s the best part! It’s within walking distance, just a couple blocks away.” Marinette took a sip of her wine while doing a happy shimmy. “I’ll save on commuting costs, and the rent is super cheap too.”

There was a surge of worry before Adrien quickly smoothed it over. Just because it was cheap didn’t mean it was bad. Maybe she’d just found a good deal was all. And even if it was… lacking… she’d be able to improve it, no problem. 

“I’m so happy for you! You’re already ahead of the fashion game with all your contacts and professional experience. Having an education in design will be the final thing you need to really excel in the business. You’re going to do amazing, I just know it!”

“Thanks!” She ducked her head shyly. “I’ve been so nervous about… well, everything, to be honest,” she admitted with a giggle. “In a little under a month, I’ll be out of the bakery and putting my skills to the test. And it’s a pretty prestigious university, so I bet I’ll have some competition too.”

“It’s nothing you can’t handle, princess.” His smile faded as he swirled the last dregs in his wine glass.

He felt her take his other hand and he looked up to see her concerned frown. “I know it’s hard, Adrien, and I’m sorry Nino and Alya couldn’t make it. But you know we’re all right here behind you, all the way.”

He nodded, biting his lips. It’d been two years to the day. They had all met up last year to celebrate... and to forget. Sure, he didn’t expect it to really turn into a yearly tradition, and Alya and Nino had tried their best to make it... but it still stung a little that they couldn’t.

“I’ve been talking your ear off this whole time about what _I’m_ doing. What about you, kitty?” She leaned forward to rest her chin and her hands, looking at him with tender affection in her eyes. “What’s next in life for you?”

Adrien didn’t have an answer for that. 

__

_\--------------- _

_ __ _

_ _Full, laughing, and slightly tipsy, Adrien walked Marinette to her front door just as the streetlights began to turn on. _ _

_ _“And you know I’ll be there for you forever and ever and ever, yeah?” He grinned from ear to ear, looking more like Chat Noir than Adrien Agreste in the moment._ _

_ _“Silly kitty.” She leaned in a little closer. “I think just helping me move in a couple of weeks will be enough.”_ _

_ _His arm snaked around her waist, pressing her flush to him. “Then you can count on my help. Even if I have to carry in a _hundred_ boxes alone.” He pulled back one arm to flex._ _

_ _She rested her forehead against his chest and laughed. “You’re such a dork.”_ _

_ _“_Your_ dork.”_ _

_ _She hummed in agreement. Rolling onto her toes, she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Good night, Adrien. I love you.”_ _

_ _He sighed happily. “Ahh, that takes me back.” He let her pull away from him. “I love you too, Marinette. Pleasant dreams.”_ _

_ _After flashing him one more smile, she ducked inside and closed the door behind her. Adrien spent a few long moments standing there, grinning like a dork, before a tiny, snide voice from inside his coat pocket drew him out of his reverie. _ _

_ _“You done staring at the woodwork, kid? Or do you want a few more minutes?”_ _

_ _He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t even manage to be exasperated. He was riding high after tonight, and he felt like nothing could drag him down. Not even grumpy cheese cats. _ _

_ _While it wouldn’t take him long to get home as Chat Noir… the summer night was warm and pleasant. He could almost pretend to see the stars above him. It would be a shame not to enjoy a little stroll back to his apartment._ _

_ _On his way inside, he noticed that he had mail, but was in such a pleasant mood that he didn’t even glance at it until he’d shut his door behind him. As he kicked off his shoes, he finally looked at the envelope. _ _

_ _The prison-issued envelope. _ _

_ _His smile, a semi-permanent fixture on his face ever since heading over the bakery earlier that day, vanished like fog before the dawn. After skimming the contents, he neatly folded it back up and tossed it into a box of depressingly similar letters. _ _

_ _Try as he might, he couldn’t shake off the bad mood. His only consolation as he drifted off to sleep was that at least tomorrow would be a new day._ _


	2. Moving Day

Adrien set the box down in the empty room and dragged the back of his hand across his forehead, keeping the sweat out of his eyes. 

“Is that the last of them?” He set his hands on his hips. Marinette had already started unpacking a while ago.

“Hm…” Marinette looked around, caught holding a whisk in her hand as she mentally counted the boxes. “Looks like that’s everything…” She looked him over, a playful smirk on her face. “Why don’t you sit down for a little bit, kitty? You’re no use to me tuckered out.” 

“Normally I’d decline, but those three flights of stairs really took it out of me.” Adrien glanced around and realized there wasn’t really anywhere to sit. So he sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning back on his elbows. “You gonna be okay walking that distance everyday?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “While not all of us can afford high-end gym memberships, I get plenty of exercise, kitty. I’m still Ladybug, after all.”

“Speaking of which…” Tikki emerged from one of the boxes, and ducked into another one. She dragged out a startled Plagg who was too busy clutching a wedge of camembert to resist. “C’mon, you stinky sock! Let’s go exploring.” Despite his grumbling, he followed after her as they disappeared into another room. 

As Marinette hummed to herself, Adrien let his eyes wander across the room. So far, he hadn’t been that impressed by the building and he couldn’t tell how much of that was his upbringing and how much was just sense. It felt cramped, the space was tiny, the windows were clouded and opened out into the alley - although, admittedly, that might come in handy if she had to leave the building as Ladybug. He’d only seen her landlord briefly, but he already didn’t like the sleazy looking man. While he wanted nothing more than to denounce it and talk Marinette to her senses… 

...He decided to bite his tongue. She seemed happy, so maybe the problems weren’t as big as he thought they were. Besides, maybe this was just him being upset that they weren’t moving in together. It wouldn’t be fair of him to nag on her first home outside of home, especially if that was his real motivation.

“I know it’s not much to look at now,” Marinette said, breaking the silence and making Adrien blush in embarrassment.

“Was I that obvious?”

“Mhm. And I get it - it’s a step down from how I was living back at the bakery, but…” She sat down across from him, her knees drawn close to her chest, “...I think, with a little love and a lot of hard work, this place will feel like home before the semester is out.”

“I’ll be more than happy to help out whenever you need it.”

“That’s sweet of you to offer, but you’ve got plenty on your plate as is. I’m not about to ask you to play home makeover with me too. Although,” she said with a wink, “I wouldn’t be opposed if you came over for dinner and some late night fun.”

He scooted closer to her, their faces centimeters apart. “Well, you _did_ say this place could use some love…”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” 

He closed his eyes and leaned in, only to be pushed back by the nose.

“...But not right now. You’ve got a lunch with Nino to get to, don’t you?”

Adrien whipped out his phone and cursed. He had ten minutes to beat Nino to the cafe.

He sprang to his feet and took Marinette’s hand to help her up. He planted a kiss on her knuckles. “Until next time, m’lady. Plagg?” He called out as he walked toward the door. “We gotta go!”

\------------

It was close, but Adrien made it in time. Nino was already waiting for him, as was a cup of coffee done just the way Adrien liked it (extra sugar and cream). Nino glanced up from his phone when Adrien pulled up a seat, a grin spreading across his face as he rose from his slouch.

“Bro! It’s been way too long.” They did their secret handshake from collegé over the table. His grin faded a little. “Sorry we couldn’t show for the anniversary, Adrien. Not a lotta free time these days, ya know?”

“Yeah, I get it. Don’t worry, no one understands the pain of a busy schedule more than me.” Adrien took a sip of his coffee. He was relieved when he felt the heat hit his tongue - he hadn’t left Nino waiting _too_ long after all. “I’ve been meaning to ask - how’s that internship stuff working for Alya?”

“My babe has been working double time to leave a good impression.” Nino chuckled. “Not that she needs to, though. All that work on the Ladyblog over the years really paid off. Having the dopest place for anything miraculous related gave her tons of credibility. And while I bet I’ve lost years from worry after seeing her run into danger so much…”

Adrien chuckled.

“...It really showed how hyped she was for the job. She had her pick of the internships when we got out of school.”

With a glance at the green bracelet on Nino’s wrist, Adrien added, “Well, at least later on, she could more than handle herself, right?”

Nino followed his eyes and smirked. “Yeah, I guess you could say that, whiskers. Still, to everyone watching, it was one crazy blogger doing her damnedest to get the best scoop.” He took a big gulp of his iced coffee. “Helps that she always got the best interviews with the heroes.”

“Hm…” Adrien rested his chin on his hand, his elbow propped up on the table, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “I wonder how she managed to cultivate all those contacts…”

“Well, after she got in good with the most important and beautiful hero - Rena Rouge - I bet it was loads easier.”

Narrowing his eyes in mock anger, Adrien growled, “You don’t want to start this argument again, shelly. Clearly, the most important and _drop dead gorgeous hero_ was Ladybug.”

“Look,” Nino said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Let’s just say all four of Paris’s defenders were hot, okay?”

Adrien pretended to consider this for a moment before nodding. “I accept your truce. And speaking of the biggest names in Paris, how’s my main man Nino doing?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say he’s a hot shot in Paris yet, but…” Nino tugged at his hat, his cheeks a little ruddier than they were a moment ago. “I’m doing good. Remind me to do something special for Marinette soon. This internship… apprenticeship… thing, I’ve got going with Jagged Stone has been like in the top three best experiences in my life. I owe her a lot for hyping me up to the rock legend himself.”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short! You didn’t get there on Mari’s word alone. If Jagged didn’t love your work, he wouldn’t have taken you on, recommendation or no.”

“Thanks, bro.” Some of the tension left his shoulders and he let out a deep breath. “I needed to hear that. Hanging out with Jagged has been a dream come true, but… it’s hard to believe I’m worthy sometimes.”

Fiddling with his ring, Adrien smiled sadly. “I know what you mean.”

“But hey! Enough about me - what about _you_, bro? What’s the future got in store for the big cat himself?”

Adrien leaned back, putting an arm over the back of his chair and looking up at the clear blue sky in thought. “Honestly? I don’t know. And I’m kinda in love with not knowing, if that makes sense?”

Understanding lit up in Nino’s eyes. “All that time marching by the beat of someone else’s drum and you finally got all the freedom you could want. I get it, dude. Well,” he conceded with a nod, “as much as someone who has never gone through that can get it.”

They sipped at their coffee in peace for a few quiet moments, the background babble of the cafe filling the empty space. 

“So… what’re you gonna do between now and the future?” 

“Pick up some modeling gigs every now and again. Try out some odd jobs to see if anything sticks. Do shifts at the bakery. That sort of thing.”

“Nice, bro. It’s not like money is that much of a concern for you.”

“I haven’t even scratched the surface yet, so I’ve got plenty more time to work things out too. Especially if I don’t go overboard with it.” 

It had been a shock to the system, finding out that all the money he’d earned while modeling during his school years had only been a fraction of the money he’d actually made. The rest had been in a bank account that Adrien only found out about when he’d turned eighteen. It made for at least some good news at the end of the worst month of his life. Two years later and he’d barely made a dent in it, and even then only because he had moved out of the bakery last year. 

Which came after the last break in by overly desperate reporters trying to dig up _something_ on the only free Agreste left. There hadn’t been any incidents since then, but it had shaken him more than he’d let on. The idea of repaying the Dupain-Chengs’ kindness with _that_ invasion of privacy… 

“Big cat!” 

Adrien snapped out of it and noticed Nino’s hand on his arm. He looked up into his concerned amber eyes. He smiled nervously.

“Sorry, dude. Kinda zoned out for a second.”

Leaning back into his spot, Nino’s concern didn’t fade in the slightest. “You know…”

“Therapy, yeah, you’ve mentioned.”

Nino held his hands up defensively. “I’m just saying. It helped me out a ton, and I don’t have the baggage you’ve got. You should at least give it a try, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure,” Adrien replied noncommittally. He hunched over and clutched his coffee in both hands.

Adrien felt a hand on his shoulder and dragged his gaze from his coffee to Nino’s eyes. “Bro, I know it’s not something you want to hear, but you’ve been through a lot. More than any of us, even before that sucker punch at the end. We’re your friends, but there is only so much we can do for you, especially now that we’re busier than ever.”

“I know.”

“Promise me you’ll at least think about it?”

“I promise,” Adrien lied.


	3. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien works a shift at the bakery before meeting Marinette for a date at their favorite restaurant.

“...And that’s the best technique for kneading the bread, son! Any questions?” 

Adrien felt Tom’s gaze on him as he worked the dough, his tongue sticking out a little as he concentrated. The past few shifts at the bakery had been very enlightening. Mostly for figuring out how Tom became so big and strong - the giant sacks of flour and the constant kneading of dough had already starting wearing Adrien down. And he’d had years of superheroics to toughen him up!

“No, I think I’ve got it this time.” Adrien glanced at the lumpy, slightly burnt excuse of a loaf of bread that he’d made earlier that day. “...Right?”

A giant hand patted him on the back. “I’m sure, son. You’re doing much better this time around.” After they’d set it aside to let it rise, Tom dusted off his hands. “It’s good of you to want to learn to cook. It’s a skill that everyone should have.”

They each picked up a platter of freshly baked croissants and walked out to the front of the bakery. The midday rush had just run its course and most of the shelves had been picked clean. It was the ideal time for them to restock with the lack of customers. 

Sabine patted him on the shoulder as he passed. “Thank you for helping, sweetheart. It’s always wonderful having you around the bakery.”

“Aw, really?” Even after all these years, it was difficult to fully grasp sometimes - adults that actually enjoyed his company! 

“Of course, son!” Tom laughed. “Heck, we were worried we’d be seeing you a lot less now that our little cupcake has moved out.”

Adrien smiled as he restocked the macaroons. “You won’t be getting rid of me that easily!”

“That’s great to hear.” Tom moved swiftly between display cases, much faster than Adrien was plodding along. “We’ll be needing all the help we can get around here.”

“Why’s that?”

“The bakery has been doing wonderfully,” Sabine said. “In fact…” She looked at Tom meaningfully.

The large baker’s eyes lit up. “In fact, we were even considering opening a second location.” They both glanced at Adrien. “It won’t be anytime soon, of course, but…”

“...But it’s certainly something to consider,” Sabine finished. “And we can’t be in multiple places at once, so we’d need extra help.”

Adrien wasn’t dense. Well, he wasn’t as dense as he used to be. He understood what they were getting at, but he still wasn’t sure about anything. Any thoughts about careers or education or businesses… that was all still in the air. Would he continue modeling? Would he pursue one of the many hobbies he’d be forced to collect during his lycee years? Who knows?

So, for now, he dodged the question by changing it to everyone’s favorite topic.

“Have you guys spoken with Marinette much recently?”

If they noticed his blatant evasion, they didn’t mention it. 

“She tries to come over for dinner during the weekends,” Sabine said. “But other than that, no.”

“We aren’t that surprised, though.” Tom tucked the empty platter under his arm and leaned against the counter. “She always was the sort to throw herself into something with all her heart. Whenever we _do_ get a chance to talk, she goes on about all the projects she’s working on.”

“And the organizations she’s joined?,” Adrien prodded.

“Not to mention how she’s become the head of some of them.” Sabine smiled proudly. “Our little girl was always a natural born leader. Even if she sometimes had a crisis of confidence, she always managed to find a way.”

Adrien smiled slyly as he finished stacking fresh baked goods. They were proud of her for being a leader, but they didn’t even know the half of it. Marinette lead more than classes and student bodies - she inspired the city and lead superheroes into battle. Adrien knew that he, at least, would follow her wherever she led. 

And today, that meant letting her choose the venue of their date for today. He pulled out his phone. Still two hours to go, but…

“Do you mind if I clock out now? I’m meeting Marinette for dinner.”

“Of course, son. You’ve done more than enough for today..” As Adrien set one foot outside the store, Tom yelled after him, “I’ll let you know how your bread turns out, too. Say hello to her from us!”

Adrien flashed them a smile. “Don’t worry, I will!”

\-------------

A shower, a change of clothes, and a kwami feeding later and Adrien was out the door of his apartment and heading for a nice little Italian restaurant that they both loved. 

He’d been looking forward to this for days now. Finding the time for a date had proven to be very tricky ever since Marinette had started university. Not that he blamed her. He wasn’t sure about all of what university entailed, especially for a design student, but he knew that she wouldn’t leave him hanging intentionally. And he was patient. He was more than willing to wait for a date, just like when he’d tried to get that first date with her all those years ago.

His pleasant memories were disrupted by a jarring sight. Marinette was waiting for him, but there was a certain… dimmed quality to her, if that made sense. She was less vibrant. Paler. She’d done amazing work covering it up with make up, but he’d spent his entire life around the finest makeup artists in the business. Even if he hadn't see through it, there was an exhaustion in her eyes that no amount of concealer can hide.

Adrien pulled out the seat opposite her, his hand immediately reaching for hers. Her forced smile flickered and faded when she saw the worried expression on his face. She sighed.

“Yeah, I know. The semester has been a bitch.”

“But… you’re only a month in, bugaboo!” His eyebrows scrunched together in concern. “Are things really that tough over there?” He looked into her eyes. “Is there any way I can help?”

A smile - real, this time - lit up her face. “That’s very sweet of you to offer, but no. I don’t think there is.” She sighed. “Unless you want to spend a few hours holding fabrics for me, but even then-”

“Tonight? Sure, I can do that.”

“Kitty, I know you want to help, but this’ll be pretty boring.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But at least I’ll be with you, right? That’ll at least make things go a little faster.”

“I…” She bit her lower lip, a little bit of the light returning to her eyes. “Thanks. I’d actually really love the company.”

He took her hand and squeezed it. “Me too. Now,” he raised an eyebrow, “would I be right in assuming you’ve gotten so caught up in work that you haven’t been eating?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and took back her hand. “Now you’re sounding like Tikki. I promise I’m eating, Adrien. It might not be three course meals, but it keeps me going.” She distracted herself by looking at the menu again. As if she would be ordering anything but her favorite.

Adrien took the opportunity to look her over again. He was reminded of the times during summer photo shoots when his normally strict diet became even more restrictive. The way he thinned out might have looked good on the camera as he modeled swimsuits, but he remembered how awful he felt during that time. It wasn’t healthy when he did it back then, and it wasn’t any better for his girlfriend now. 

Maybe it was just a transitionary period. Maybe once she had a grip on her new workload, her eating habits would return to normal. But for now, something needed to be done.

While he was plotting, the waiter arrived for their orders. While Marinette asked for her usual of arrabbiata pasta, Adrien ordered two plates of his meal, plus extra appetizers. It earned him a strange look from Marinette, but he had a plan.

They chatted over their dinner. Mostly it was Adrien letting Marinette talk - about commissions, about classes, about the other students, whatever was weighing on her mind. He asked questions when he could to keep her going, offered advice whenever he could. It was gradual, but he could see the weight slowly lifting from her shoulders as she unloaded on him. It warmed his heart to see her start to come alive again. 

But eventually, their meals were eaten. Marinette shot another curious look at his second plate, which had gone completely untouched. The mystery was solved when Adrien asked for it to be boxed up.

As they walked out of the restaurant, she asked in a teasing tone, “Don’t trust me to feed you while you’re over?”

Adrien chuckled. “This,” he tapped the box, “is for you, lovebug. I want to be sure you’ll at least have one good meal after I leave.” He winked at her. “Besides, we both know I’ll be the one cooking breakfast tomorrow.”

“It’s not _my_ fault you get up at sunrise like some sort of monster,” she grumbled, but he could see her fighting down a smile. Adrien couldn’t cook much, but breakfast was something he had down pat.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome.”

\-----------------

They got to her apartment and Adrien was surprised to notice that it wasn’t much different than when he had helped her unpack. It was as if she gave up on decorating partway through and her projects had taken over. And given that they moved her in not long before the school year started, that might very well have been the case. 

They were barely in the door when Marinette let her hair down.

“Make yourself at home, sunshine. I’m going to slip out of this dress and into some pajamas.”

Adrien opened her refrigerator to stash the leftovers away and waited for the door to Marinette’s room to close. Once he heard the click, he opened up her purse and revealed a tiny red kwami.

Tikki blinked up at him in bemusement, a macaroon halfway to her mouth. “Um… hello, Adrien. How can I help you?”

“I can promise you Dupain-Cheng cookies if you give me the information I need.”

The kwami’s eyes widened as a calculating look passed over her face. Plagg may have been the more gluttonous of the two, but Tikki had her weaknesses. And there really wasn’t any better baked goods anywhere else. 

Tikki floated out of the purse and glanced back at Marinette’s room. “You better ask quick, then.”

“Has she been eating?”

“Barely,” Tikki rolled her eyes. “If you can get her to eat more, please do. She skips meals all the time to get work done.”

“Is she taking on too much?”

Tikki shrugged. “You know how she gets. It’s a lot, but she is used to dealing with a lot.”

He’ll count that as a definite ‘maybe’ then. “How about-” Marinette’s bedroom door creaked open and Tikki flew away. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Not something reassuring, but at least now he had a sense of what he was dealing with. He walked around the couch and sifted through Marinette’s DVDs.

“Want to watch a movie while we work, bugaboo?”

Marinette sighed, a content smile on her face as she relaxed in her baggy sweater and yoga pants. “I would love to, kitty.”

\-----------------

Saturday morning and Alya was already frustrated with Marinette’s apartment as she trudged up three flights of stairs. Granted, it wasn’t nearly as taxing as half the things she did as Rena Rouge, but it was the principle of the matter. 

It was as she was angrily trudging up the stairs that she nearly collided with someone going the opposite direction. She managed to keep her grasp on her phone. Years of hanging out around Marinette had made sure _that_ reflex was deeply instilled. After a quick second to confirm that she hadn’t dropped anything, she looked up at the person she’d nearly been bowled over by. 

“Well, if it isn’t centerfold himself!” A wide grin crossed her face. “How’re you doing? Did you make a nocturnal visit, hm?” She waggled her eyebrows.

As hoped, Adrien blushed. “No- Well, I mean, _yes_, I did come over last night, but that’s not- we didn’t-”

She chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, sunshine. I’m teasing. Care to give me the news on what’s up with our favorite girl?”

Alya listened to Adrien as a frown slowly deepened on her face. It sounded a lot like half a dozen times Marinette had started to get too caught up in something before. Her work for Kitty Section. The many events she’d pulled off as class president for years. The weeks following Hawkmoth’s reveal. Compared to those times, this wasn’t that bad… yet. But knowing Marinette, they’d need to nip this in the bud before it blossomed into a big problem. 

“...You see why I’m worried, right? It might not be serious now, but if this is how she keeps going for her entire college education…” He trailed off, nervously stepping from one foot to the other as he watched Alya.

“I get what you mean. I’ll see if I can talk some sense into her, but you know how she can be…” 

Adrien seemed crestfallen. “Yeah, I know.”

“Still, thanks for the update. Don’t worry, I’m sure this is just her getting used to these big changes. See ya, later, hot shot.” Alya squeezed his arm reassuringly as they passed, already forming a game plan. She knocked on her best friend’s door. 

Marinette answered. “Alya!” She smiled and wrapped her up in a hug. “I didn’t realize you’d be here so early.”

Alya smirked as she followed Marinette into her apartment. “Is that why I passed your lover in the halls? Should I give you a little warning so you can sneak him out earlier?”

Much like her boyfriend before her, Marinette blushed in embarrassment. “Alya…” she whined.

“You two are too easy,” Alya said with a snicker. She took the opportunity to put her nosy journalist skills to good work as Marinette returned to the piece she was working on.

The breakfast on the table - mostly untouched - definitely had Adrien’s hallmarks on it. The boy only knew how to make like three dishes well. All three were breakfast foods and she suspected some hairbrained advice from her boyfriend was to blame for that. She frowned when she saw that only a few bites had been taken out of it. 

“Your breakfast is gonna get cold, M.”

Marinette groaned. “Now you’re sounding like Adrien. It’ll still be there when I’m done with this, I promise. I just need to-”

“Just need to have breakfast before your best friend force feeds it to you? Couldn’t agree more, M.” Alya put on a sickly sweet smile and Marinette dragged herself over to the counter. Alya joined her and sipped at the coffee she’d picked up on her way. “Now, what’s going on in Marinette land?”

While Marinette told her about a few tickets Jagged Stone had sent her for the Parisian concert, Alya dutifully listened. She had started mentally juggling her schedule to let her spend more time with Marinette. Alya was not one to let her friends suffer alone.


	4. The Calm

Adrien stretched out, the pleasantly warm beams of the morning sun bringing an unconscious smile to his face. While he’d always been a morning person, his childhood schedule often had him getting up well before the sun, never getting to enjoy the first rays of dawn. That wasn’t something he intended to take for granted any time soon.

The sunlight seeped into his bones and warmed his heart as he rolled out of bed, taking extra care to avoid disturbing Plagg as he lay sprawled on his back on Adrien’s pillow. He tucked his feet into a pair of cute black slippers Marinette had made. Their floppy cat ears and green googly eyes never failed to put him in a good mood. Or in this case, an even better mood.

His morning routine went by in a serene blur. He crooned love songs in the shower. Took a little extra time messing with his hair. Danced while he dug through his closet for an outfit to wear today. He gently picked up his still-sleeping kwami and tucked him into his shirt pocket. Today was going to be a great day, he already knew it. As he stepped into his kitchen, it felt like nothing could ruin his good mood.

Except perhaps for the appearance of an envelope on his countertop. 

His smile quickly melted from his face as he recognized the familiar handwriting. He vaguely remembered bringing it in yesterday after a long shift at the bakery. Wednesdays were always pretty busy for some reason or another. His fingers traced the edge of the envelope. Deciding that he’d better get it over with, he carefully and methodically opened it and pulled out the letter. 

Before he could subject himself to reading the thing, there was a loud knock at his door that nearly had him drop it in surprise. He cracked open the door, which was all the invitation Chloe needed to strut inside. She lowered her sunglasses as she peered around his apartment and sniffed dismissively.

“A little quaint, but better than that damn cavern you grew up in.” 

“Good morning to you too, Chlo.” He shook his head.

“Oh, lighten up, Adrikins. It’s a lovely place. Maybe not the Grand Paris, but...” They exchanged cheek kisses. She raised an eyebrow at the letter he was holding, snatching it from his hand. There was a teasing lilt to her voice as she said, “Oh? What’s this? Love letters, maybe? You’re certainly enough of a romantic to insist on something as ancient as these.” Her eyes narrowed as she skimmed. “I see.” She crumpled it up and threw it into the garbage.

“Hey! I hadn’t-”

“Trust me. He didn’t have anything of _value_ to say, the rotten bastard.” She clapped her hands together and gave him a gleaming smile. “Now! Are you ready to start our day out, Adrikins?”

Feeling a little miffed at her brashness, Adrien played dumb. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve got a girlfriend, you know.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and so do I.” She crossed her arms. “I’m here to hang out with my friend, you _ridiculous_ boy. I’d hope you’d at least remember that much, since this was _your_ plan.” She walked towards the door. “Let’s get moving, I’m not going to be in Paris forever.”

He chuckled as he followed her out. Adrien usually preferred taking the stairs, but unsurprisingly Chloe lead him into the elevator. 

To fill the silence, Adrien asked, “Girlfriend, huh? So you and Kagami are back together again? Or is it someone I don’t know about?”

“Like anyone else could handle me, Adrikins.” She snorted, a faint smile on her lips. “You and Marinette becoming a thing turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have found Kagami tearing up in the girls’ locker room.”

“Should I say it just like that when I give a speech at your inevitable wedding?”

“Maybe. Two girls brought together when their mutual beard got taken away from them. A classic love story.”

The two of them shared a laugh and just like that, it was like old times again. The conversation, mostly gentle barbs and jabs traded between them, carried on through their walk through several shops. Naturally, with Chloe present they had to stop at a few boutiques to update her wardrobe. Several years in New York with her mother had left her fashion decidedly American rather than French. After a few hours of shopping and a brief stop for lunch, they arrived at the main focus of their excursion.

Adrien’s cooking class. He’d made the arrangements to join the class after he had gotten back from Marinette’s earlier that week. It was just good fortune that placed Chloe in town just as he was about to go into his first class. 

“So… why the sudden interest in cooking, Adrikins?” Chloe asked as she tied her apron strings behind her. 

“...It’s a useful skill to have. I love cooking.”

“Ah, you’re being sneaky. Got it.”

They were quiet for a few minutes as they listened with the rest of the class to the instructor. With the wide smile the teacher wore as she looked into each of their faces, Adrien could already feel his nerves relaxing. This wasn’t like the instructors he’d been provided as a child, always seeking flaws and failings. He reassured himself that he was going to a good time.

While they were in the middle of preparing the sauce, Adrien asked, “So… New York. Missing it already?”

Chloe paused. She sighed. “Not as much as I was missing Paris.”

“Really?” Adrien frowned. “I guess it’s easier to meet up with Kagami if you don’t have to take a flight every time you want to date, but…”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Chloe waved her hand impatiently. “It’s just… it’s been hard, you know? Trying to be a better person. For you. For Kagami. For all my friends. And it hasn’t been any easier spending all that time with mom.”

Adrien winced. It wasn’t hard to believe - Audrey was about as awful as they came, outside of supervillain circles. “Does that have anything to do with this visit? And why you and Kagami just got back together?”

“...Yeah. I was thinking… maybe this didn’t just have to be a visit.”

“You want to move back to Paris?” Adrien failed to keep the shock out of his voice. “You were so excited for New York, though.”

“It’s alright, but it’s not home.” Chloe sighed. “You know?”

He thought about the bakery and all the happy memories he’d made there. All the patrols that had devolved into late night cuddles on the Eiffel Tower. Games of tag across the rooftops of Paris. Deep conversations held in the towers of Notre Dame. The city was his home; he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be away from it for so long. 

“Yeah,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I get what you mean completely.”

The conversation petered out as they turned their focus towards finishing the class. A few more details slipped past, though - while she would be living there for a while, she wouldn’t be moving back to the Grand Paris Hotel. She wouldn’t be moving in with Kagami either. After having her mother’s assistants breathing down her neck for a few years, some time to herself was just what she needed. Taking things slow never came easily to Chloe, but she was trying her best this time.

Once class finished, they said their goodbyes. Adrien headed back to his apartment having recaptured some of that positivity that he’d woken up with. It was still early in the afternoon by the time he’d gotten home, on a day he didn’t work, but his usual means of passing the time wouldn’t be getting out of class for a few more hours. As he puzzled out what he’d do until then, his stomach growled. That dish he’d made in class smelled wonderful…

A few plates of homemade lasagna and a few movies later, and the sun was beginning to set. He’d had a beautifully unproductive day, which was just what he needed. 

“Well, look at you,” Plagg said with a grin, slowly eating through his own plate of lasagna. “Finally get some time off to yourself and what do you do with it?” He took a huge bite, devouring the last of his slice. “Absolutely nothing!” He sniffed, as if holding back tears. “I’m so proud!”

With a faint smile, Adrien replied, “Coming from anyone else, I’d think you were being sarcastic. But thanks, Plagg.” He set his plate on the table and Plagg pounced on it, devouring the remainder of it. “Its relaxing not to be led by the nose across Paris. Always glancing at my phone to make sure I’m on time. Always doing _something_, never a moment of downtime.”

Plagg’s ears twitched and he tilted his head at Adrien. “You’re stressing out, aren’t you?”

“Was it that obvious?” Adrien deflated a little. “It just… it feels wrong. Not doing anything for a whole day.”

“Get used to it, young man. We spent all that time getting your task masters to put down that whip, I’m not about to let you pick it up yourself.” He floated up to Adrien’s face. “But hey! Don’t worry, you’ve got the king of naps and relaxation here to teach you everything you need to know, kid!”

Adrien smiled and rolled his eyes. “Sure, Plagg. I’ll defer to your expertise in this.”

“I’m glad-”

“Your much greater, wider breadth of experience.”

“Yes, thank-”

“Your _unbelievably_ vast knowledge of the lazy arts.”

“I prefer the ‘way of ultimate relaxing’.”

Adrien chuckled and scratched Plagg between the ears with one finger. “I’m sure you do, little guy. Although, now that you’ve mentioned taking it easy…” Adrien pulled out his phone and scrolled down to the contact, ‘Mari’, surrounded by cutesy emojis. The phone began to ring…

\-------------

Marinette’s eyes were burning from how long she’d kept them open today. Little sleep last night and it was looking like little sleep again tonight. But she needed to get this dress ready in time for the critique next week. No matter what she did, though, she couldn’t enter the right state of mind to just zone out and let the art flow through her. It came as a welcome relief when her phone rang. She even let out an affectionate sigh when she saw who it was that was calling her.

“Hey, kitty. What’s up?” She stood up, taking this break as an excuse to stretch her legs a little.

“Nothing much. Spent the day hanging out with Chloe while she was in town.”

“Chloe, huh?” Marinette had mixed feelings about Chloe, but it had definitely improved after they all rallied together for Adrien’s sake. She’d been beyond helpful during that terrible month, but it was only one step toward making amends for the years and years of torment.

“I know, I know. But she’s been doing good. That time in America really helped her. Or, at least, it helped her decide what she didn’t want to be.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “You say that like she’s done living in the States.”

“From what she was saying, it sounds like she is. Don’t worry, I won’t try to get you two to get along. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Glad to know I can still teach cats new tricks,” she said teasingly. “But if that’s the case, then you probably didn’t call me to chat about that. What’s on your mind, hot stuff?” She stretched out on the couch. “Knowing you, I’m sure it's something romantic or something ridiculous. Probably both.”

“You know me so well, bugaboo.” His laugh came through, clear as a summer sky. “Well, we’re getting pretty close to our six year anniversary…”

“Six years…” Marinette whispered in awe. “Doesn’t feel nearly that long, but at the same time feels like our entire lives.”

“I understand completely. Hard to imagine a time before we were together, love bug.”

“Still, we’re a little under three months away from it. What did you want to talk about?” There was a silence on the other end. “...Adrien. You weren’t thinking of making plans _already_ were you?”

Silence. “...No.”

Marinette laughed. “Sunshine, you’re ridiculous.”

“Mhm. And, if I _were_ planning our anniversary date, which classy restaurant would you like to go to?”

“Do we really need to go somewhere?” Marinette asked as she sat up on the couch, elbows on her knees. Tikki glanced over her cookie at Marinette, tilting her head in a silent question. “What about just staying home and cuddling? Movies and junk food and a big, warm blanket?”

“Hm…”

“What?”

“Just trying to decide if that is ‘Marinette the exhausted student’ or ‘Marinette who hates the cold’ talking here.”

“It’s ‘Marinette who just wants to spend quality time alone with her boyfriend’, actually.” Tikki snickered silently and returned to eating her cookie.

“ I love spending time with you, but you also refuse to let me spoil you except on special occasions. What’s more special than our anniversary?”

“I’m just saying, I’ll probably be exhausted with finals and want to just stay in by that point.”

“Speaking of which,” Adrien said as he blatantly changed the subject, “how have you been doing on sleep?”

Marinette bit her lower lip as she debated whether or not she should downplay just how little sleep she’d been getting. Before she could respond, she heard Adrien sigh.

“That bad, huh? Listen, can you do me a favor?”

Always willing to help out others, Marinette replied without thinking, “Of course!”

“Go to bed early tonight.”

“But-”

“I know you probably have things to do, and I know you think you absolutely _have_ to get them done tonight. But I promise, you don’t. And we both know the quality will be better anyway if you can get in the zone and not fall asleep halfway through.”

She pouted in silence. There wasn’t anything she could really argue - he’d got her pegged there. A downside to him knowing her so well.

“Mari? I need you to promise me you’ll go to bed early tonight. Please?”

She finally broke down. “Okay, okay. I’ll try.”

“That’s all I’m asking.” Marinette stood up to run her hand over her latest piece while Adrien continued talking. “So how has this week been going? Anything new to tell?”

As Marinette began to fill him in on what she’d been going over in her classes, she resumed work on her dress. If she was going to live up to this promise, she’d need to get plenty of work done right now. No matter how exhausted she was.

\----------------

It was a couple hours after Adrien had gotten off the phone with Marinette, getting close to midnight. Normally, he knew that Marinette was as good as her word. She’d bend over backwards if it meant fulfilling all her obligations to people.

Unfortunately, she often didn’t take herself into consideration there.

Adrien trusted Marinette. He’d trusted her with his life more times than he cared to remember. But even so, he didn’t hold out hope for how well his little loophole worked out. Getting her to take care of herself and painting it as a personal favor was a little sneaky of him, but if it worked then it would be worth it.

“Sorry, Plagg.” 

His kwami looked up from where he was laying, caught in a kwami-sized food coma. “Wha-?”

“Claws out!”

A flash of green light later and he was crawling out his window. Soon enough his feet were on the rooftops, the crisp autumn air in his lungs as he ran across the city. Less than ten minutes later, he was crawling into another window. As his boots hit the ground, Marinette jolted from where she was standing over her project.

She whipped around, eyes wide. “Adrien!” She tried to put herself between her and the dress. Given how small the love of his life was, it didn’t do anything to conceal what she’d been up to just moments before. “I can explain, I promise!”

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. 

“Um…” She wrung her hands and visibly struggled to come up with anything before hunching over in defeat. “Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like. I just need to finish this piece before I go to bed.” She moved as if to turn around. A small smile tugged at his lips as he caught her wrist. 

“Mari, it’s time for bed,” he said gently.

“I’m not tired,” she replied while trying to stifle a yawn.

“I’m sure you aren’t.” He pulled her towards himself and swept her off her feet. 

She immediately melted into his arms, leaning her head against his chest as he carried her. Even so, she blearily looked up at him and pouted.

“Hey! I need to finish my…” She yawned again and made a motion with her hand as she tried to think of the right word, “...thing.”

“Your ‘thing’ will be waiting for you when you’re awake and perky tomorrow.” He entered her bedroom and set her down in her bed. He tucked her in and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Good night, lovebug.”

He tried to walk away, but she snatched his hand. “Stay with me? Until I fall asleep, at least.” She stretched as she got comfortable. “It’ll be a while though. Since I’m not tired.”

Fighting down a smile, he laid down on the sheets next to her. Immediately she draped an arm over him and rested her ear against his heart. She sighed in contentment as he began purring.

They chatted for a little while, but contrary to Marinette’s blatant lies, she was exhausted. Hardly a few minutes had passed before she was soundly asleep and he was able to slip away. As much as he’d love to spend the night here, her bed was too small for the both of them. Prying himself away, he rushed back home.

After he dropped his transformation and Plagg floated away grumbling, Adrien started getting ready for bed himself. He settled into his too large bed and opened his phone as he waited for exhaustion to hit. Which is when he noticed that Alya was active on discord. Remembering his brush with her in the halls of Marinette’s apartment a few days ago, he sent her a message.

\------------------

_Direct message from Adrien_

**Adrien:** You awake?

**Alya:** The truth never sleeps, blondie

**Alya:** Although...  
The truth IS feeling a little tired though

**Adrien:** lol, that’s fine  
I was about to head to bed myself  
Sorry to bother you

**Alya:** Nah, that’s fine  
Get back here centerfold  
What’d you want to talk about?

**Adrien:** Well…   
Marinette

**Alya:** Our favorite topic, lol  
I take it this is about how she’s running herself ragged?

**Adrien:** Yeah  
We’ve seen it before  
A lot  
I’m just worried  
Like always

**Alya:** I hear you  
I’d love to say homegirl can handle herself but  
Shes great at taking care of everyone BUT herself  
Which is where we come in

**Adrien:** Glad we’re on the same page  
So what’s the plan?

**Alya:** Well  
You know how she gets  
If we don’t pay attention she’ll end up starving herself  
Too focused on what shes doing to care about  
How SHE is doing

**Adrien:** yeah  
I had to go over and put her to bed myself today

**Alya:** Lol sounds aobut right  
Between the two of us we can watch out for her  
She’ll need lots of extra tlc  
But I’m sure you don’t mind that, huh lover boy?

**Adrien:** You caught me  
I love my girlfriend to pieces  
And this is a good excuse to dote on her

**Alya:** Attaboy  
I’ll do my part too

**Adrien:** Thanks, Alya

**Alya:** Don’t sweat it, blondie  
Just do right by my girl and we’ll be square


	5. The Storm

The roar of the crowd helped to drown out the sound of Marinette’s heart pounding in her chest. It had been ages since she had gotten to go to a concert. There had always been something going on to stop her, whether it was akuma attacks, studying, or helping at the bakery. And while she was sure there was probably something she should have been working on, what was she going to do? Tell Jagged Stone, ‘Sorry, can’t go. I’ve got some embroidery to finish a week ahead of time. I’m sure you understand.’

And Jagged probably would have too, but he’d also have been sad, and that was the last thing Marinette wanted. It would have been a poor way to repay him after he had helped Nino get his internship with his production company. 

As she flashed her VIP pass to the security guards standing at the backstage, Marinette smiled. At least this wouldn’t be like attending just any old concert. Jagged Stone had made sure to give them only the best seats in the house and backstage passes besides. He always liked when she visited before the show started. Something about her being his lucky charm. If only Jagged knew the half of it…

Marinette lead the four of them through the ordered chaos that was the dimly lit backstage, straight for the source of the ordered part of the chaos.

“Hi, Penny! How are you doing?”

“Marinette, honey!” Penny wrapped her in a hug. “Now I know tonight is going to go smoothly, with you around.”

Marinette giggled. “Jagged finally get to you? Trust me, I’m not as lucky as he thinks I am.”

“Don’t confuse lucky and clumsy, sweetie,” Adrien said beside her. “You’ve got plenty of both to go around.” He kissed the back of her hand that he was holding while she huffed at him. Alya and Nino snickered behind them.

Penny smirked. An assistant rushed up and whispered something urgently in her ear. She cursed in English. “It was great to see you, but I’ve got to get back to it.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. “My hubby is over there if you wanted to say hello before we get started.”

“Thanks, Penny!” Marinette said to her retreating back. She guided them over in the direction Penny pointed them in, descending into the basement of the building. Once the roar of the crowd was dulled by the walls, it was easy to follow the sounds of idle strumming. It was never hard to find Jagged Stone once you were in ear range of him.

Marinette knocked on the door that had his name on it before gently pushing it open. On the other side, Jagged was checking himself out in the mirror while Fang slept on a nearby chaise. He noticed her arrival in his reflection and quickly turned around, a big grin on his face. 

“Hey, love! You made it after all. And I see you brought me my tune master,” he said while fist bumping Nino. “Enjoying your day off, my dude?”

“You know it, boss man!” Nino finger gunned at him. “Decided to listen to some quality music tonight, ya know?”

Jagged chuckled. “And I bet the free seats from the little lady helped too, huh?” He looked past him to Adrien and Alya, who he quickly wrapped up in one armed hugs. “You must be the better halves, yeah?”

“Well,” Adrien said with a light blush, “I wouldn’t say that, but-”

“Hell yeah I am,” Alya grinned.

Still smiling, Jagged turned his attention to Marinette. His smile vanished, replaced by naked concern. “Woah, love. You’re looking less rock ‘n roll than usual. Are you sleeping? Maybe had a bite to eat in the last week?”

Marinette grimaced. Maybe it was to be expected - her friends had certainly been babying her recently, even if they were trying to be subtle about it. Jagged had always acted like a caring uncle to her, something that had only gotten more pronounced after Penny gave birth. 

Plastering a smile on her face, she said, “Oh, you know. Uni has been pretty rough, but I’m hanging on. But I’m here to forget all that by rocking out!” She threw up metal horns and Jagged’s grin came back as he returned the gesture.

“Rockin’! But remember to take care of yourself, love. I’d like to keep my best concept artist in one piece.” He winked at her. “It’s been way groovy to see you all, but you’d better get out there if you want to be ready. I’ll make sure this performance is nothing to miss.” He strummed a power chord on his guitar. 

“See ya later, boss man!”

Jagged grinned and nodded his chin at Nino as they walked away. The sound of his solo still audible through the door. 

Marinette pouted as they made their way back to the concert area. It was irritating that he’d singled her out like that, but before long they were back in the crowd near its front. Being back in among the excited energy of the throng made sure that her irritation didn’t last long. They were playing some tunes to get people distracted, turning the crowd floor into a dance floor. Naturally, Adrien pulled her close as they rocked out to the music together and soon the only thing going through her head was the beat of the music. 

It was pretty jarring when the placeholder music pumped out through the speakers stopped, but only for a moment as the _real_ concert started. The experience of dead silence as Jagged Stone appeared on the stage in full Rock and Roll glory, only for the moment to suddenly break as hundreds of voices began screaming all at once… it was something that Marinette never got used to. The only problem?

Marinette was very short.

Even up in the front, it was starting to hurt her neck to stare up at the stage and peer between the few people in her way. She silently stamped her foot in frustration, plotting to find a better vantage point. 

At least until Adrien caught her wrist. He motioned her towards him as he turned his back toward her and crouched down. Even without words, Marinette picked up on what he was trying to say and climbed on. While she’d certainly been in more dangerous situations before, rising up on her boyfriend’s shoulders and breaking above the crowd made her uneasy and she gripped his head to keep her balance. 

She only hesitantly let go when she felt his strong hands gripping her bare thighs, an electric tingle rushing up her body at the touch. She was suddenly very glad that she’d chosen to wear shorts for this concert. Hoping to repay him a little, she ran her fingers through her wonderful boyfriend’s hair before turning her attention back to the show and her new vantage point.

The music pounding in her ears, the roar of the crowd that she could now see over, the feel of Adrien below her… it was all intoxicating. For just a few hours, she let herself not have a care in the world. 

\-------------------

Naturally, the cares really snuck up on her the following morning. She jolted awake a few minutes before her alarm went off, which was the least ideal time for her to wake up. In her panic she threw herself out of bed and rushed to get ready for university. If she wanted to catch up on everything she needed to do, she’d have to skip breakfast… and get greasy fast food. Even in her frantic state, she scrunched up her nose at that. The sacrifices that had to be made for art.

She burst into her living room and smelled something cooking in the kitchen. There was no wall between the two rooms, so she could easily see the source. Her thoughts came to a grinding halt when she saw Adrien laboring shirtless over the stove. As she froze, the floorboards creaked underneath her and he turned around, spatula still in hand. 

“Oh!” His smile was dazzling, especially given how early it was. “Good morning, bugaboo.” His eyes swept over her hungrily. “You’re looking _pawsitively_ stunning. Care to join me for breakfast?”

“Morning, handsome.” She crossed the space between them and snared his lips with her own, her fingers dancing across his bare chest. “And I can’t stay, I’ve got to go into class.”

His eyes were dragged downward just as his eyebrows rose. “...That so?”

Confused, she glanced down, only to let out a mortified squeak when she realized she had forgotten to put on pants. She struggled to pull her shirt down to cover herself, managing a glare when Adrien chuckled.

“You know I saw way more of you last night, right?” He waggled his eyebrows and gave her that cheshire cat grin that she had so thoroughly associated with her partner. It was hard to believe their identities had been a secret at some point. “_Butt_ hey! If this is the latest fashion trend, then who am I to argue?”

She huffed and turned around to storm back into her room, which conveniently hid the smile she had cracked at his pun. 

“Breakfast is waiting for you, sweetie!” He called after she shut her door. 

After digging through her clean clothes pile, she fished out a serviceable pair of leggings and stepped back out into the kitchen. He looked her over and gave her a thumbs up. Deciding she didn’t want to waste the food Adrien had made for her, she took a seat across the table from him. His chin propped up on his hand, he watched her with an amused smile. 

“Can you lock up behind you when you leave, Adrien?”

“I’m heading out at the same time you are. I’ve got a shift at the bakery today. I might be a little late today with all this excitement but…” he winked theatrically. “I’m in good with the bosses, so I think they’ll let it slide.”

She snorted. “You and your nepotism.”

“Aw, come on. I got in on talent alone! Who else would smile and bat their eyes at the customers like I do? And get them to buy a lot more pastries than they might have otherwise?”

“You’re a dork,” she said with a smile as he walked around to stand behind her. 

“_Your_ dork, maybe.” He kissed her cheek and kept walking to the refrigerator and pulled out a little lunch box like she might have had in lycee. “Anyway, I know you’re busy so I packed a lunch for you while I was at it.” 

She blinked at the box. “...How long have you been awake?”

“You know I wake up early,” he said nonchalantly. “I like to see the sun rise.”

“Well… anyway, thank you. This is super helpful.”

He bowed. “I’m glad to be of service, m’lady. Are you ready to start the day?”

To her surprise, she was. It was the first time in weeks that she hadn’t felt desperate or like she was running out of time. They walked out of the apartment, hand in hand, sharing a kiss after they had to part ways outside the building. Marinette went to class with a spring in her step, excited to face the challenges that the day would bring.

\-------------

“Tikki!” Marinette whined as she failed to get the stitching right again. “I hate design!”

From her vantage on the couch behind her, Tikki giggled. “No you don’t, you’re just tired and frustrated.” She floated forward and landed on Marinette’s shoulder. “I know you want to get this done, but I’m sure the person who commissioned this won’t mind if it isn’t finished by tonight. That deadline you gave was soft for a reason.”

“I know, but I _can_ finish this tonight. If I just try a little harder...”

“It’s alright to take a break, Marinette. Maybe grab something to eat…?”

Marinette threw her hands up in frustration. “Now you’re starting to sound like Alya and Adrien!” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Tikki and pointed a ruler her. “You aren’t in league with them, are you?”

Tikki watched her and raised an eyebrow. “Well, if being on their side means talking sense…”

“Hey, I’m not a child! I’ve been taking care of myself!”

“You forgot to eat that nice lunch Adrien made you and then accidentally threw it in the garbage.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Marinette buried her face in the dress in progress. “It smelled so good… so briefly…” She sniffled and her stomach growled at the memory of the destroyed pasta.

“See? Your stomach agrees with me. Go get something to eat, Marinette.”

Irritation flared up. She was doing just fine on her own, not matter the hints they were giving her. Stupid overbearing boyfriend. Stupid overbearing best friend. Stupid overbearing kwami.

Grumbling all the while, Marinette dragged herself away from where she was working and opened her refrigerator. She was nearly brought to tears when she saw that there was an even bigger container of Arrabbiata pasta, her favorite, in the front. On it was a handwritten note by Adrien, which she read through grateful tears.

‘Missing you lots, wish I could be there to make this for you in person! I hope this is good enough! [badly drawn heart]’

She giggled at the poor sketch of a heart while hers was warmed by the gesture. While she heated up her pasta, she silently forgave Adrien. His heart was in the right place, at least. And if that meant she got more of his constantly-improving cooking… then so be it. 

\--------------------

A few days later, it was time for patrol. 

At this point in their superhero careers, it probably wasn’t necessary. There weren’t any miraculous unaccounted for anymore and they hadn’t fought an akuma in over two years now. But somehow, it felt right. If they could keep the streets a little safer at night for the average citizen, then so be it. Even if most nights all they did was run across the rooftops, wind in their hair, the city open beneath them, and their worries left far behind them.

...Okay, so maybe the patrols were helpful, if only for their mental health. Marinette had tried to get out of a few of them to get extra sleep, but Adrien quickly realized she was just going home to work more. 

Maybe it was because her thoughts were already being pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Or maybe it was because it had never gotten this bad before. But it didn’t occur to her that maybe such physical activity wasn’t best performed on an empty stomach.

Either way, she suddenly felt faint and would have collapsed to the street below if Chat Noir didn’t catch her just in time. The panicked worry in his emerald eyes was enough to pull her back fully into consciousness. 

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He took an extra moment to set her down somewhere relatively comfortable and out of sight. After a few minutes, he returned with a bag full of croissants.

“How’d pay for this?” She asked groggily. 

He shrugged. “I threw a fistful of euros at them and hoped it was enough.” He shook his head and put a croissant into her hand. He patiently waited while she worked her way through a couple pastries. “When did you last have a proper meal?”

She was feeling better now that she had food in her, which meant that she was fully aware of the vaguely disappointed tone that had slipped into his voice. 

Bashedly, she replied, “...When did you leave that pasta for me?”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “We’ll call patrol off for tonight.” He got to his feet and helped her up. “Looks like I should make you dinner more often,” he said dryly. 

“...Fine, fine.” Not that she wasn’t looking forward to more of his cooking, but she didn’t like to admit she needed the help. Especially over something like feeding herself. There was no way she’d be able to talk him down after tonight.

“And remember our date for next week.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’m glad to hear it. Goodnight, lovebug. I love you.”

“I love you too, kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Now with fan art!](https://thewritewolf.tumblr.com/post/639044558132477952/hi-thewritewolf-i-was-your-gifter-for-the-aps)


	6. Date Night

Adrien had gotten home late after another long but enlightening shift at the bakery. Well… relatively late. The hours that a baker worked meant that his bosses were in bed long before most people, but that didn’t matter much when they took advantage of his youth and strength to do the heavy lifting for them. He hadn’t even considered checking his mailbox last night with the bone deep exhaustion he’d felt. The first rays of dawn were only just barely able to wake him. 

He threw his legs over the side of his bed and took the time to watch the sunrise through his bedroom window. Another beautiful day in Paris. Even if it was a little chilly in the early October air, the cold had never bothered him as much as they had his lady. A ghost of a smile flitted across his face as he remembered her and slipped his feet into the silly kitty slippers she’d made for him ages ago.

His muscles ached as he stretched, but between his excursions to the gym, the years of superheroing, and the schedule from his youth that had run him ragged, the pain was more than bearable. A warm shower to help relax helped take the edge off the soreness. Now all he needed was some breakfast, and something to distract himself. With those goals in mind, he got dressed and headed into the kitchen, sparing a glance at Plagg. He was still laying on his back, bathed in a sunbeam as one of his legs twitched. Adrien smiled as gently closed the door behind him.

Despite all the classes and his time at the bakery, breakfast was still Adrien’s strong suit. He started to cook up a cheese omelette stuffed with fresh vegetables, paired with some leftover bread he’d taken home from the Dupain-Chengs yesterday. Barely a few minutes had passed before the silence became maddening. Another lingering pain from his childhood, but one that he could easily remedy. A playlist Nino had made for him filled the air and Adrien’s mind cleared. 

Halfway through breakfast, he remembered he’d never checked the mail yesterday. Not wanting his food to get cold, he dashed down to the mailroom of the complex and quickly opened his slot. As expected, there was a bundle of letters that he snatched before closing it and running back into his apartment. 

He slowly shuffled through them while he ate. Most were worthless spam or worse. One from a modeling agency he’d worked for a month or two ago. Probably either thanking him for the work or pre-emptively asking for him to come back on for the winter lines. Considering his finances were doing alright, he’d likely pass on that and carefully set the letter aside. Reaching the bottom of the pile, he froze.

A familiar type of envelope in the same familiar handwriting of his father.

Everything in him told him it was a bad idea to read it. He never came out of it any better than when he went in. His heart was pounding in his chest and he began sweating. His breathing was ragged as his eyes flew over the page. 

They were all the same. Every single one of them. Different words, same meaning. 

‘I did what I had to.’

‘This was for YOU.’

‘Our family needed this.’

‘Put yourself in my shoes.’

‘Would you have done any different?’

The words flew past in a blur as his eyes glazed over. Before he could properly read it, a sharp voice drew him out of the downward spiral.

“I’m hungry!” Plagg whined as he flew in front of Adrien’s vision. “I’m wasting away here, kid. I need delicious, gooey camembert NOW.”

A smile tugged at his lips but didn’t reach his eyes as Adrien jolted to his feet to find his kwami’s breakfast.

\----

While Adrien was distracted, Plagg narrowed his eyes and faced the letter. He was sorely tempted to just cataclysm it right here and now, to make sure his chosen would never be hurt by it again. But control of their powers had never been the forte of any of the kwami, least of all the kwami of destruction. Deciding that it was only barely not worth ruining the apartment, Plagg batted the letter into the trash. If only he’d had the opportunity to do the same to Gabriel himself.

Adrien returned with a quarter wheel of cheese, which Plagg took to eating with gusto. Adrien frowned as he looked on the counter.

“Hey, Plagg?” The kwami slowly looked up from his breakfast. “Do you know where that letter I was reading went?”

“Somewhere it belonged, I’m sure,” Plagg replied irritatedly. Adrien was about to speak again, so Plagg interrupted him. “So, date night, right? That’ll be something to look forward to.”

Just as expected, a dopey grin crossed Adrien’s face. Plagg could play the boy like a lute. “Yeah, it’ll be great to go out again. We don’t get to go on dates as much as I’d like.”

“That’s ‘cuz you’d want to go on dates every night,” Plagg pointed out.

“True,” Adrien conceded. “But I don’t hear you complaining.” He rested his head on his hands, almost flush with the table, putting him at eye height to Plagg. “Maybe because you have a love bug too that you get to cuddle with, hm?”

Plagg made a gagging sound. “Sugar cube and I don’t _cuddle_. We are ancient beings from the dawn of time.”

“Really? Curled up into each other like that, you could’ve fooled me. And what, exactly, is it that kwamis call it?”

“...Shut up.” 

“And you have pet names for each other! Just like me and Mari. Sounds a lot like you two are dating, you know.”

Plagg slowly turned to Adrien and narrowed his eyes. “Shut. Up.”

“Aw, I’m sorry Plagg. Truce?” Adrien scritched between his ears in just the right way.

Unable to fight his instincts, Plagg purred in spite of himself. Refusing to continue the conversation, he doubled down on eating his cheese. Adrien chuckled and returned to his breakfast. 

Despite his denials, Plagg was looking forward to the date night, but for more than just seeing his Tikki. Plagg snuck glances at his charge, but Adrien seemed to be back to his usual peppy self again. He breathed a sigh of relief. Another crisis averted, barely. 

\------------

With how much she’d been pushing herself, it was bound to happen eventually. Late night studying. Early morning classes. Every hour crammed full of work. Between the darkness of the theater, the calm and pleasant movie, and the comfortable shoulder of her boyfriend, Marinette was destined to fail. None of that made it any less mortifying.

Marinette was gently shaken awake by Adrien as the credits rolled. It took a moment for his face to come into focus, but when it did the amusement was plain.

“Rough night, huh?”

She snorted. “More like rough semester.” She wrapped herself around his arm as they walked out, leaning on him as her eyelids grew heavy. Despite her best attempts, she yawned.

She felt him kiss the crown of her head. “My poor, sleepy bug. How about we bail on the restaurant part of our date and just head over to my place?”

Even in her exhausted state she managed a grin. “Why Adrien, you tom cat. And without even buying me dinner first.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “You’ll get your food. I just don’t want you face planting in your plate in public.”

“Oh, so it’s alright when I dive face first into my food, just so long as it's at your apartment?”

“Yes,” he said with a stoic expression. “Then when you drown in soup I will be slightly less embarrassed.” 

“Oh, I see,” she deadpanned. “Well, as long as my impending doom isn’t an inconvenience to you.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Their eyes met briefly, but that was enough to break their charade. Both of them broke out into giggles and the conversation passed into a comfortable silence as they made their way to Adrien’s apartment. At which point, she let out another big yawn.

He looked at her with a frown. “You going to make it, lovebug?”

“Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p’. “You’re going to have to carry me.” She stuck out her tongue at him and took a step towards the elevator.

Naturally, she didn’t make it much further than the one step since Adrien swept her up into his arms.

She laughed. “I was joking you _ridiculous man_.”

“Princesses get carried to their towers,” he replied loftily. “I don’t make the rules.”

The strong, independent woman in her wanted to struggle and get down, but the very tired design student who was presently in control simply cuddled closer as she laid her head on his chest. She felt warm and secure and relaxed for the first time in days. She closed her eyes to listen to his heartbeat more clearly. 

She must have drifted off since when she opened her eyes, she was laying on his couch. There was a delicious smell in the air that was enough to make her stand up, clutching the blanket Adrien must have draped over her. 

He smiled as she approached his kitchen. “Hey bed bug. Done with your cat nap?”

“For now, at least.” She rested her head against his back as he stirred. “What’re you cooking?”

“Potato soup. Straight from your father’s cookbook.”

She hummed happily. “I can’t wait.”

“Take a seat, I’ll pour you a bowl when its done.”

She moved to do so and happened to walk past the garbage can. Her eyes were drawn towards an uncrumpled letter facing up. It wasn’t hard to recognize the writing - years of idolizing the man behind the brand had trained her well. Even if it had been even more years since that particular pedestal had been broken, never to be rebuilt. She cautiously lifted it from the trash and scanned the page. Ladybug levels of singular purpose parted the tired fog of her mind as her anger was stoked.

“Adrien…” Something in her voice caused him to turn around with a frown. When he saw what she was holding, his eyes widened. “...Have you read this?”

“S-some of them.” There was a tenseness to his shoulders that hadn’t been there a moment before. A stiffness to the way he held himself. “Only skimmed that one before… before I lost it.”

Lost it? Sounds like Plagg’s doing. Marinette made a mental note to sneak the little guy even more treats. Then her eyes widened in realization as his words caught up to her brain.

“Wait. ‘Some’ of them? There are others?”

Adrien swallowed and visibly paled. 

In a heartbeat, Marinette was beside him, the blanket forgotten as it pooled on the floor behind her. She reached a hand up to cup his cheek and he leaned into her touch gratefully. With her other hand, she grabbed his forearm and squeezed. 

“Oh, kitty…”

After a few more deep breaths, he got himself under control. He took the letter and folded it up neatly before stashing it high on his refrigerator. 

“So, uh…” He said in a voice that only barely warbled. “Soups ready.”

She knew him well enough to let it lie… for now. Adrien didn’t like being pressed or forced to talk about things, but she trusted him enough to talk in his own time. For now, all she could do was take his mind off of it.

And if that meant chatting over a dinner of soup and then cuddling on the couch for a few hours… she wasn’t about to complain. 

\-----

It was morning when Marinette woke up. Apparently she’d been picked up yet again since now she found herself in Adrien’s bed, with the man himself nuzzled up underneath her chin. 

As much as she wanted to sleep in, a glance at the clock proved that wasn’t likely. She groaned and tried to wriggle out of Adrien’s grasp. 

“Nooo…” Adrien moaned into her collarbone. “Stay…”

“You know I’ve got classes, sunshine…”

He raised his head and pleaded at her with those big, green eyes. His bottom lip quivered with overplayed sadness. It was almost enough to break her right there, but sheer stubbornness carried her through this time.

“Nice try, and very cute, but it’s still a no.”

He sighed. “It was worth a shot. What if I drive you into class?”

“I…” She glanced at the clock again. “I’d actually appreciate that, thanks.” 

“And if I happened to not have anything else to do today and brought you lunch later… I don’t suppose you’d appreciate that too?”

She tried to pout at him for babying her, but the warm smile he was giving her was proving contagious. Instead, she sighed and rolled out of his arms before walking into his shower room. 

His laughter could be heard even through the door. “I didn’t hear a ‘no’, princess!”


	7. Surprise Visit

Marinette was feeling stretched thin, between hunger and lack of sleep and heaps of work. It was ironic, then, that she was ignoring all that by spending the class period working on an entirely different piece. Maybe it was because this time she wasn’t toiling away in solitude at her apartment but rather standing in the classroom with a half dozen other students while her professor prowled between them. 

It was mid-October, which meant that it was just over halfway through the semester. Things had begun mellowing out as she hit a stride with her various activities and class work. Maybe joining all those clubs wasn’t a good idea after all, but she had promised herself she’d at least stick with it for the rest of the semester. Besides, it was all moving smoothly now... even if it came at the cost of non-vending machine food and extra sleep.

She shook her head to focus back on the long winter coat in front of her. The student’s winter show wasn’t nearly as anticipated or important as the spring show, but it was still a good idea to make a strong first impression. And besides, she wanted to make sure that every piece that had her name attached to it was quality work. ‘Start as you mean to go on’, as her maman loved to say. 

Hunger pangs made her freeze midway through her measuring. One hand gripped her desk while the other covered her stomach. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain to pass. When she opened them again, she quickly glanced around to make sure no one had caught that. She’d had enough concerned looks to last her the rest of the semester. 

The door opened and she risked a glance up to see what poor student was arriving this late into the period. Her eyes widened she realized it was Adrien, looking around the room with a frown as he stood in the doorway. Their eyes locked and his face immediately brightened. 

He was about to call out when her professor quickly crossed the room to stand in front of him. “Is there something I can help you with, young man?”

Adrien held up a plastic bag that had a few tupperware containers inside of it. “So sorry, Madam Professor, but my _delightful_ girlfriend hasn’t had a decent meal in two days and she is determined to worry me sick.” He narrowed his eyes at Marinette, but she could still see the twinkle of mischief in them even from this distance. “I promise I won’t disrupt your class for long.”

There were a few scattered giggles from her classmates and Marinette blushed, mortified at her boyfriend’s arrival. Irritation flared as she belated realized he’d just called her out in front of the whole class.

“Good. We’ve all been a little worried about her,” her professor said with a nod and a faint smile, making Marinette blush spread even further. Had it really been that obvious? While she returned to her desk, she added, “Just don’t get too comfortable. This is _work_ time, not _flirt_ time.”

He flashed her a boyish grin and said, “Don’t worry, I’m excellent at multitasking.”

Marinette crossed her arms and glared at him as he walked towards her. When he caught the way she was looking at him, he rolled his eyes.

“Lovebug, you really have no one to blame but yourself here.” He spoke quietly, mindful of the other students still working in the room.

Her hands shifted to her hips. “You barge into _my_ classes-”

“-and feed you after you starve yourself for _at least_ two days, yes. Unless you are about to admit that you’ve been ignoring the lunches I make for you to take to university?”

Her glare intensified and she took a deep breath to argue, but then another wave of hunger pangs struck. Her stomach growled, likely sensing the food so close as hand. A couple of the students closest to her glanced in her direction, turning her face scarlet again. 

She clenched her jaw in defeat and looked up at his eyes, expecting him to be smug. Instead, he was frowning, his eyes regarding her sadly. It sent a spear of hurt through her heart. After a few more moments of silence, she sighed. 

“You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

“And I think _you_ know that I did have to,” Adrien replied without missing a beat. He set the bag on her desk and walked over to stand next to her. His eyes roamed her coat. “I see this is coming along well. How are you feeling about it?”

She gratefully accepted the change in topic and talked fashion with him for a few minutes. While Adrien had never been huge into fashion, his perspective from the modeling side of things was often indispensable. Not to mention the things he’d absorbed just by being surrounded by high fashion from a very young age. 

Still, there was a lot more that she needed to do and her professor was starting to look annoyed. 

“Okay, Adrien. Time for you to go,” she said, gently nudging him away.

“Are you sure?” He spoke with the teasing tone of voice that never failed to annoy her to pieces. “Maybe I should stay for a little while longer. Make sure you actually eat the food I made this time, hm?” He smirked at her as she scowled.

“Get out of here, centerfold. I’ve got work to do and you’re being a menace.”

“Oh, alright.” He put a hand on her head as he kissed her temple. “See you soon, lovebug.”

She maintained her scowl even after he left. All the way until her stomach growled again and curiosity overcame her work ethic. She set down her tools and pulled a tupperware container out of the plastic bag. Her scowl melted away the moment she took off the lid and the delicious smell of chicken stirfry hit her nose. 

Maybe Adrien had a point, Marinette thought as she nearly fell over thanks to the smell of sauteed veggies and mixed spices. If this was her reaction to an actual meal, perhaps she had been overdoing it on the vending machine crackers. And if her boyfriend was determined to cook for her...well, she couldn't let it go to waste, could she?

\------------

“Sorry I’m late guys,” Adrien said as he took a seat at the cafe. “I had to make a stop at the university.”

Alya and Chloe took a break from their glaring at each other to glance at him. 

“Why does she need to be here, Adrien?” Alya asked. Her eyes narrowed at Chloe. “Hard to see her caring much about us common people.”

“While it is true that you all are _very_ common...” Chloe began.

“Chlo…” Adrien said in a chastising tone.

“...I want my friends to be happy.”

“Oh, so we’re friends now?” Alya drummed her fingers against the table in an irritated tempo.

“Well, it _has_ been years since I’ve even mocked you and your ridiculous fashion sense.”

“It’s been years since we’ve talked!”

“Hm… you’ve got a point there.” Chloe looked Alya up and down with an appraising eye. “Well, you’ve certainly gotten better with makeup, though I could still give you a few pointers. And your taste in shoes is improving.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Still the vain, egotistic-”

“Thankfully you make up for it in your journalistic skills. Like when you brought that corruption issue to light last month.”

“You… read my articles?” Alya spoke slowly, wary surprise evident in her voice.

“Of course. I started back when…” Chloe glanced at Adrien and coughed lightly. “Well, after you saved Adrien from the angry mob, I figured you might be worth another look.” She sniffed haughtily. “I suppose I got you all wrong from the start. I’m-” Chloe made a face as if she had bite into a lemon. “I’m sorry. There?”

Alya blinked at Chloe while Adrien sat back and watched it all unfold. While he wasn’t certain that things would pan out like this, he knew that Chloe had at least wanted a chance to make things right with the gang. Marinette and Nino had big hearts and were more than willing to forgive, but Alya wasn’t nearly as trusting. A helpful trait for a reporter, less so when it came to stuff like this. But if she was willing to give it a shot…

“Ugh.” Alya pinched the bridge of her nose. “Alright, fine. We’re cool for now, but you’re on thin ice, missy.” Before Chloe could reply, Alya turned to Adrien. “Anyway - you stopping at the university. I take it that was for our main girl, sunshine?” At his hum of approval, Alya nodded. “Good, I’ll feel better knowing she had something to eat today. Girl has been scaring me.”

“Something up with miss goody-goody pigtails?” Chloe said with a sip of her latte. 

“Marinette, _my beloved girlfriend_,” Adrien said pointedly, looking Chloe in the eye, “is working herself into the ground. We’re here to figure out how to stop her from doing that.”

“I think we’re getting through to her. She’s at least not getting worse, ya know?” Alya took a bite out of her croissant. “With how busy we all are, that might be the best we can do until winter break.”

“So… just keep holding steady and hope she starts listening?”

“Definitely. We don’t want her to feel smothered by us, that’ll just make her double down out of… well, I’d say ‘spite’, but I don’t think that girl has a gram of spite in her. Too much raw sugar and strawberry filling.”

Adrien nodded slowly. That made a certain amount of sense.

“Are you two for real?” Chloe raised her eyebrow. “That is the most ridiculous, non-plan I’ve ever heard of.”

“You don’t know Marinette like we do, girl,” Alya said, narrowing her eyes. “Let us handle our friend.”

“Listen, Adrikins,” Chloe said, leaning forward to put her elbow on the table as she gave her full attention to Adrien. “All this padding around the problem isn’t gonna solve it. You both know Marinette - is she the kind of person to _stop_ throwing herself into her work?” 

Alya exchanged a look with Adrien. 

“Right,” Chloe continued. “Something bigger needs to be done if you want her to start taking care of herself again.”

“Any ideas about this ‘something bigger’, Chlo?” Adrien asked.

Chloe peered over her sunglasses with a raised eyebrow. “Like you two said, you know her so well. I’m sure _you_ can figure something out. Just be firm with her. It’ll snap her out of this trance she’s probably worked herself into.”

With two wildly different pieces of advice to consider, Adrien turned the conversation to different topics. At least he had achieved the impossible of getting Alya and Chloe to act somewhat civilly with each other. If he could accomplish that, then helping Marinette ought to be a piece of cake.

Right?


	8. Sick Day

Marinette was miserable.

There were orders to fill and events to organize and clubs to lead. Above it all was the looming deadline at the end of the semester, a date that was uncomfortably close as November was about to roll around. She couldn’t afford wasted days, not now. Not when everything was coming to a head all at once.

And yet, here she was. Bed ridden with a cold, of all things. Two days into it and feeling no better than she had after collapsing into her bed yesterday. Tikki swore up and down that the power of creation infused in the Ladybug miraculous would make her heal faster, but apparently her body was already pushed to its limits with everything she had been doing. 

She whimpered into the stuffy, warm gloom of her room (or maybe that was just her that was warm) as her headache flared up again thanks to a sneezing fit. Being sick sucked.

Her door opened, pulling back the comforting layer of darkness and she groaned. After adjusting to the sudden light, she blinked up at the patiently smiling face of her boyfriend. A smile that proved to be infectious, especially with the delicious smell coming up from the steaming bowl he was carrying. 

“Hey, bedbug. Feeling any better?” He pulled up a seat as she sat up. Once she had resituated herself, he passed her the bowl. Her nose was still stuffed up, so she couldn’t quite place the scent, but she knew she loved it already.

“No, not really,” she said, wincing internally at how distorted and weak her own voice sounded. She stirred at the food in front of her, unsure if she was hungry or not.

“Not feeling potato soup? I could make something else, but you really should eat. It’ll help you get better faster.”

“No, no it’s fine. My stomach is just being weird is all.”

“Eat what you can, even if it’s just a spoonful. There’s more if you want it, but if not I can store it away for when your stomach is more cooperative.” Adrien watched as she took a few tentative bites. It was as good as she was expecting it to be, making it easier to force down some of the food. “You don’t usually get sick like this. What’s different this time?”

“The difference is that she is pushing herself so thin even the power of creation is having trouble keeping her hale and fit. After all that stress from the midterm tests it was inevitable.”

Marinette tilted her head up at Tikki curled up on the headboard and pouted at the kwami. Huffing in irritation, Marinette looked away and grumbled, “Tattletale…” 

“We’ll talk about that later, my lady,” Adrien said with a stern look at her. “Try to relax for now. I’ll crash here until you feel better.” 

“You really don’t have to-”

“I kinda do, since you are in no shape to take care of yourself right now. And even if you were, I’d still want to help keep an eye on you. We’re a team, after all.”

A small, warm smile found its way onto her face. She was so glad to have him in her life, especially as her boyfriend. Sometimes she had no idea where she would be without him. 

“Okay, lovebug. I’m gonna let you get your rest now.” Adrien placed a kiss on the pads of his pointer finger and middle finger and then quickly pressed them to her cheek. She giggled at his proxy kisses, which he devised after she forbade him from kissing her while she was sick. 

As the door closed, Marinette was still miserable. But Adrien made her feel a little less miserable.

\-----------------

Adrien gathered the dirty dishes out of the living room and took them into the kitchen, all the while humming a song. Which song it was, he wasn’t entirely sure. More than likely, it was one of the ones that he had practiced on the piano so frequently as a teenager that had just got imprinted in his brain forever. Even after he’d stopped playing, though that was more because of a lack of piano than a lack of desire. 

The cheerful melody didn’t do much to fight back the building worry in the back of his head. How much was she really neglecting? Did she clean up only when she was expecting him over? Was this part of the reason she got sick? With all the glasses and bowls and plates he’d scavenged out of her various ‘workplaces’ (i.e. anywhere she had spent laboring over a design), he was surprised she hadn’t been reduced to eating off of paper towels. 

He left them to soak while he prowled the tiny apartment for any other surprises. 

It had come as a shock to everyone else when it was discovered that Adrien _enjoyed_ doing household chores. Granted, he didn’t start doing them himself until after he moved in with the Dupain-Chengs. Something about the repetition and the satisfaction of seeing things improve by his own hands… it was definitely something that he had needed after everything that had happened. Maybe it was the sense of normalcy that he got from doing things for himself after a lifetime of everyone else taking that decision away from him. 

Regardless, his quick scouring brought up a messy heap of dirty clothes and a similarly disorganized pile of clean clothes. He threw a load of what he hoped was the dirty clothes into the washer and got started on folding the presumably clean pile. Well, as clean as clothes that had been left on the floor for kwamis only knows how long could be.

A quick vacuuming and Adrien returned to the dishes. After making appreciable headway, there was a knock on the door. He narrowed his eyes and hoped that it wasn’t her landlord. That man was sleazy and taxed even Adrien’s patience. He dried off his hands and went to the door, opening it a crack.

Alya grinned at him from the other side. “Hey, blondie! I got some stuff for our girl. Care to let me in?” 

Adrien’s scowl melted into a grin. “Sure thing! What’ve you got for us?”

“Groceries, medicine, some tea from Sabine,” she said as she dropped two paper bags onto the counter. “That sort of thing.” Her eyes roved the room. “I see someone’s made themselves useful. Good to know you’ll make a great trophy husband for our little fashion powerhouse.” Alya winked and Adrien felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of marrying Marinette.

“She deserves the extra help, you know?” He started unpacking the bags and putting them away. “She’s in her room if you want to say hi.” Alya swallowed heavily as she looked toward the bedroom door, dread in her eyes. “I know she’d appreciate it.” 

“Low blow, Agreste,” Alya said. She groaned. “If I get sick then it’s on you.”

Adrien chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Why aren’t _you_ worried, anyway?” Plagg asked as Alya went to chat with Marinette. “Just in case your animes have given you the wrong ideas, let me remind you: The power of love doesn’t actually stop you from getting sick.”

“Yeah, I know,” Adrien said while rolling his eyes. “But I’m pretty stress free, I have a work out regime and I eat healthily. Marinette, despite my best efforts, has none of those things. I’m not too worried about me.”

A few minutes passed with just the clinking of the dishes and his hummed song filling the air. Before long, Alya came back out and leaned against the sink where Adrien was washing dishes. After grilling him for a little while how bad Marinette’s sickness was, and what he was doing to help, the conversation shifted to him. 

“So how’s it been going, blondie? Figure out what you want to do yet?”

Adrien shrugged. “For now, I’m happy working at the bakery and watching out for Marinette.” He smiled. “Both of those things keep me pretty busy.”

“I can imagine,” Alya said with a smirk. “Plenty of doors are open for you, whatever you end up deciding. What about up here?” She tapped the side of his head. “Anything to report?”

“...Some days are better than others. Some days are worse. I can’t really complain.”

“It’s okay to not be okay, you know.”

Adrien looked at Alya and saw the worry in her eyes. “I know.”

“Have you considered getting professional help? Nino swears by it.”

“Speaking of, it sounds like he put you up to this.”

“Nah, but we both came up with it, so it must be a good idea, huh?”

“I guess…”

They stood in silence for a few moments before Alya moved away from the sink. He was surprised to feel her pat him on the shoulder.

“You’re a good guy, Adrien. I’m glad Marinette has you. Just remember that you have her too, okay?” At his nod, she removed her hand. “Good luck, big cat.”

The door closed behind her and Adrien stared into the soapy waters that his hands were submerged in. A soft smile was reflected back up at him. 

\-----------

“I’m worried about her, Adrien,” Tikki said as she floated above him. 

He looked around the room one last time, making sure that he had packed everything that he had brought over. After he grabs his toothbrush from the bathroom, he should be ready to head back to his apartment.

“I am too. Which is why I’m going to double down and make sure that she is getting the proper care she deserves.” He zipped up his duffle bag and set it on his bed of the last four days, the living room couch. “I don’t want to do this all again when her finals roll around.”

“It’s not just the finals I’m worried about.” Tikki landed on his palm and sagged. “This is just the first semester! There will be more to come and it’s only going to get more serious from here!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right there, making sure she’s taking care of herself. Even if I have to do it myself.”

“That’s the thing - you can’t be there for her _all_ the time. It takes a while for you to come over here or to her university, not to mention the extra hours you’re taking at the bakery. And no,” she added when Adrien was about to interject, “that doesn’t mean I want you to quit your job just to be her caretaker.”

But Adrien thought maybe there _was_ a way for him to be there for her all the time. Or at least, pretty close to it. The gears began turning in his mind for a new plan.

\--------------

Adrien never thought he’d love to see his apartment building, but here he was, sighing contently as he set his duffle bag on his living room table. There would be plenty of time to unpack it later. 

As much as he hated seeing her sick, he was glad he had been able to help her. Hopefully she wouldn’t be mad about him cleaning up, but knowing her, she wouldn’t mind. Unless he happened to have moved her art things without realizing it, in which case she might very well tear him to pieces. He chuckled to himself and went down to the mailroom. Maybe he’d gotten something worthwhile in the past four days. 

Walking back upstairs with the mail in hand, he began shuffling through them. Offers from banks (who wanted his money), universities (who wanted the boost his fame would bring), and a few modeling firms (who wanted his talent all to themselves). Adrien rolled his eyes. Just a bunch of strangers giving him attention for all the wrong reasons. The same song and dance he’d dealt with for almost his entire life. Not really worth getting bent out of shape over. 

His back stiffened when he saw the first letter from his father. With a shudder he sorted it to the bottom of the pile. He wasn’t about to let his day get ruined by him. Not again. Slightly shaken, he kept shuffling.

His heart skipped a beat when the second letter was revealed. Belatedly, he realized he’d made it to his apartment door and gratefully shifted his entire attention toward opening it and walking inside. Gritting his teeth, he sent _that_ one to the bottom as well.

Which revealed the third and final letter. 

Adrien’s breath was coming in ragged now and his heart was pounding. With fumbling hands, he fished out all three and forcefully shoved them in a quickly filling basket with all the others. 

“Hey, kid anything good-” Plagg cut himself off and froze halfway from rising from his den in the kitchen cabinets. His eyes were concerned as he asked, “What the hell happened to you?” Adrien opened his mouth but couldn’t find the right words. He glanced at the letter basket and Plagg narrowed his eyes. “I see.”

“I think… I could use a drink. Maybe take it easy for the rest of the day. Watch some television?”

Plagg watched him pour a glass of white wine and take a seat on the couch. While Adrien was searching through the channels to find something to take his mind off things, Plagg curled up against his neck and purred. 

The sensation was enough to calm the frantic pace of his heart.


	9. Warmth

The letters in front of Marinette swam as she tried to focus on them, her laptop screen getting blurry intermittently as she blinked away the gnawing tiredness at the edges of her mind. Between her exhaustion and the lingering after effects of her cold from last week, she was having an awful time studying. Maybe she should have tried getting back onto a regular sleep schedule, but there was too much to do after being bed ridden for a few days.

Thankfully, there was the power of energy drinks to save her. The caffeine was probably the only reason she was even still awake right now. Not that being conscious was a huge help if she couldn’t process what she was reading. After a few more minutes of unsuccessfully staring at her screen, she sighed and leaned forward, rubbing her forehead. 

Once she wasn’t hyper focused on her work, her attention drifted to a conversation from a couple boys at another table. They weren’t very loud since they were all in the campus library, but she could still hear them pretty clearly. Without meaning to, she listened in.

“...Crazy, right?”

“Man, you’re super lucky. That would’ve been just the thing to make calculus less dull.”

“What? Haven’t you had a class where that Agreste kid just waltz in with a boxed lunch?”

Marinette froze. They couldn’t be talking about…?

“He’s been in so many frickin’ classes but _of course_ he doesn’t show up to any of mine.”

“Bummer, dude. It’s pretty hilarious, and kinda cute.”

“Well, he was a model. Or is he still one? That was pretty ambiguous-”

“No! I mean he brings the lunches for his girlfriend.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. Feel bad for his girlfriend though. Must be a little embarrassing, ya know?” 

Meanwhile, Marinette buried her scarlet face in her laptop, being careful to keep it between her and the two boys while they kept talking. Maybe it would be worth eating proper meals just to keep Adrien from these over the top antics. 

Despite her embarrassment, Marinette’s stomach growled treacherously at the thought of his boxed lunches. She wondered where he was right now...

\------------------

“Geez, dude, can’t even go easy on me for a minute, huh?” Nino threw his control down in faux anger. “Have I even one a single match yet?”

“Hm…” Adrien tapped his chin as he pretended to give it some thought. “Well, you did beat up my character when I went to the bathroom. Does that count?” Adrien ducked out of the way of a playful punch aimed at his arm. “Ooo, too slow, turtle boy.”

“God, you’re such a smug dick,” Nino said with a grin. “Can’t believe I ever thought you were an innocent homeschooled boy.” He leaned back, settling his controller on his lap. “How’d you even get so rockin’ at this game?’ His eyes narrowed and he pointed a figure into Adrien’s face. “And you’d better not say ‘natural talent’ or I’ll send M that clip of you drunkenly crying to that one Inuyasha scene.” 

“We’re all friends here, shelly, no need to pull out the big guns.” Smirking, Adrien held his hands up in surrender and shrugged. “Well, you know how Marinette is into the Mecha Strike series. Ever since we started dating, every time a new title would come out, I’d get it for her. Then we’d play it a ton. Early on, it was after dates, but after I moved in, we’d stay up late and fight into the early morning.” 

“Sounds like you were having a ton of fun,” Nino said with a small smile. “You ever actually win any of those matches?”

“Hell no. Why do you think I like playing against you so much? I got years of pent-up frustration to take out.” They shared a laugh. Adrien stared wistfully into space. “But yeah. It was like a sleepover every night with the person I cared the most about.”

“Harsh, dude.”

“Hey, you’re a close second! And that’s saying something since she’s literally the love of my life and light of my heart.”

“...Yeah, I can see how you two and your over-the-top ideas of love mesh together.” Nino snapped his fingers. “Speaking of crazy acts of love! Weren’t you making tons of trips to M’s university? What happened with that?”

To his surprise, Adrien blushed and he rubbed the back of his neck. “About that… Turns out, doing it once is cute. Two or three times is adorable, but getting annoying. But apparently two meals a day for three weeks - minus her sick break - is crossing a line.”

“Bummer. So she chewed you out?”

“If by ‘she’ you mean ‘all of Marinette’s professors’ then yes.” Adrien sighed dramatically. “Now I’ve been banned from interrupting all her classes, at least for the semester.”

Nino laughed at a pouting Adrien. “Uncool of them, but I get it. Can’t have some stray cat runnin’ around, getting everyone all riled up.”

“Anyway… at least she got a few weeks worth of regular meals out of it. I just wish it could have gone on for a little longer.”

“It is what it is, big cat. You did what you could and that’s what’s important.” He pulled out his cellphone and started composing a text. 

“Who are you talking to?” Adrien craned his neck over, shamelessly reading over Nino’s shoulder.

Nino leaned away from his prying eyes. “It ain’t for nosy cats, that’s for sure. If you gotta know, its for my babe. She’ll think you getting banned is hilarious, and I gotta be the one that tells her.”

“Oh sure, laugh at my pain.”

“That’s the plan, dude.”

Adrien shook his head, but there was a glimmer of mirth in his eyes. He stood up and walked to the kitchen, leaving Nino to send his message in peace.

\-------------------

A few days later, the apartment was quiet once again. Nobody had come over to visit, which was more the norm for his life. On some level, the stillness bothered him, like there was something missing. Or maybe it was just because it was harder to distract himself if there wasn’t any noise or energy in the house. 

Either way, today Adrien didn’t mind as much since the solitude would make this a little easier. He didn’t want word of his plan to leak out before he was ready or else Marinette might catch wind of it and clam up. Which wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Marinette herself.

Adrien hung up the phone and took a seat at his kitchen table. Normally at this hour it would be covered in fresh ingredients for whatever he was planning on making that day. But where chopped vegetables usually sat was instead advertisements and a few bank statements. The latter was probably unnecessary - he knew without looking that’d he’d have enough for what he was planning. But it was reassuring to see, at least.

Knowing Marinette, it was good to have as many loose ends tied up as possible, and leave nothing to chance. He loved her to pieces, but she could work herself into an anxious lather if he let her. 

“Are you sure this will work out?” Adrien worried at his lip as he sightlessly looked over the papers. 

“Listen, kid,” Plagg said as he gnawed at a wedge of cheese. “You want to help her, right? And she isn’t budging despite everything you’ve done so far, yeah?”

“Yes…”

“Then trust me. I’ve known more than a few Ladybugs in my day and most of them are way too stubborn for their own good. And we both know Pigtails hasn’t bucked that tradition in the slightest.”

“I know, but… it’s a big step. Shouldn’t we talk it out as a couple?”

“Maybe. And I’ll grant that Pigtails is a great planner.” Plagg gulped down the last hunk of his cheese, letting out a satisfied sigh once it hit his stomach. He shook his head and looked back at Adrien. “But she’s also her own worst enemy. If it isn’t urgent, she’ll just plan and plan and plan forever without actually doing anything.”

Adrien smirked, remembering the times Marinette had shared - after some help from a bottle of wine - some of her more… creative plans to confess her love to him. At least, until he beat her to it. Maybe Plagg had a point.

“We can always plan together later,” Adrien said with a nod. “I just need to make sure she doesn’t reject it out of hand.”

“That’s the spirit, kid. Now, onto the important matters - where’s my second dinner?”

\-----------------

Tonight was their anniversary, a chilly December day, and Adrien wanted to make sure everything was perfect. He’d gotten permission to leave the bakery early. Probably way earlier than he’d needed to, but Tom and Sabine had insisted that he take the whole afternoon off. Especially Tom, Adrien remembered with a smile, who could barely hold back the tears as he waved Adrien off. 

A quick stop at the market for fresh ingredients and Adrien was home. 

As much as he had wanted to go out to a fancy restaurant or do something special with her, he knew that the best way to spoil her now - after the semester she’d been having - would be a nice relaxing night at his apartment, eating a home cooked meal and cuddling in front of the television.

And by all the kwami was she going to get the _best_ meal and the _most snuggly_ cuddles he could possibly make. She deserved nothing less. 

He became a man possessed, putting all those cooking classes to good use as he crafted the greatest lasagna he could make. While that was cooking in the oven, he began gathering all the softest blankets and pillows he could find and stacking them on his couch. Half the fun of a pillow fort was making it with someone else, but he knew she’d rather be able to collapse into it as soon as she got there.

It was just as he placed the finishing touches on the fort that he heard a knock at the door before it swung open.

When his eyes met hers, a big grin spread across his face as his heart raced. She wasn’t even a step inside before he’d rushed across the room and swept her up in a hug, holding her off the ground with his arms just below her waist. 

She laughed as she pressed her hands against his shoulders for support. “At least let me put my stuff down first, you ridiculous man!”

He simply grinned up at her, eyes sparkling with happiness as he slowly let her down just enough to put them face level. He kissed the corner of her mouth and whispered:

“Happy anniversary, bugaboo.”


	10. Winter Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're halfway through now! By this time next month we'll be two chapters away from the end of the story! :D

Reluctantly, Adrien lowered Marinette back to the ground. He stepped back and watched as she took off her jacket and backpack. 

When she was done, she looked back at him with a tired but nonetheless radiant smile. “Okay, kitty. What’ve you got planned for us today?”

“If you’ll follow me, my lady?” He held out his arm, which she gladly hung onto and guided her the few meters over to the kitchen space, where he had already set up their meal. “For the first part of our evening, we will be having a luxurious dinner made by our finest in-house chefs.”

Marinette ‘ooo’d and ‘awww’d appreciatively. A pleased smile found its way to his lips when he saw how her eyes lingered on the hand-made lasagna before drifting to the tomato salad, garlic bread, and an unopened bottle of Chianti in ice. Naturally, the scene was lit with candles, even if the apartment lights were still on at the moment. 

“And over here we have our citadel, from whence we will conduct the rest of our affairs for the evening.”

Reluctantly, she tore her hungry gaze away from the dinner to the pillow fort. She blinked in confusion for a moment before bending over laughing. It was the surprised, earnest laughter that he so loved coaxing from her. After she recovered, she straightened out and wiped away tears from her eyes. He faux pouted at her, but he was far from upset.

“I’m sorry, chaton,” she said, rolling onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “I just wasn’t expecting a pillow fort after seeing such a beautifully romantic dinner. But it’s very lovely. Now… what ‘affairs’ do you hope we’ll be conducting in there, hm?” 

She gave him a sultry look despite blushing at her own words. Adrien couldn’t blame her since he could feel warmth spreading across his face. With a grin of his own, he pulled her close and brushed the hair out of her face. 

“Whatever the lady desires.”

They stood there for a long moment, staring deep into each other’s eyes.

“And by that he means ‘a few of your favorite movies and some shows you two are behind on’.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes and slowly turned toward Plagg, who was merrily working his way through a cube of cheese. Cheese that was left behind when Tikki snagged him and dragged him through the wall into his guest room. Adrien heard a muffled ‘Hey!’ and reminded himself to pick up extra cookies the next time he came back from the bakery.

Turning his attention back to the important things, Adrien bowed to Marinette and said, “Shall we get started, my lady?”

“We shall,” Marinette replied with a small curtsey. He guided her back to the table. She rolled her eyes and giggled as he pulled out her chair and pushed her into place. 

During the quiet conversation that followed, Adrien listened patiently as Marinette filled him in on everything that had happened since they last sat down for a talk. Unlike usually, his mind was somewhere else as he psyched himself up. Worry crept in - what if she turned him down? Maybe it was too soon. Maybe it was too big of a step. But he realized that he couldn’t put it off forever, so in a brief pause when she stopped to eat some of the lasagna in front of her, he spoke.

“Marinette, I wanted to ask you something.” He set his fork down and pushed his empty plate to the side. His hands were folded in front of him to keep himself from fidgeting nervously.

She tilted her head and watched him curiously as she chewed.

“I want to move in together.”

Her eyes widened and she swallowed, a comically loud sound in the silence. “Wuh- Really?”

“Well, to be fair, I’ve wanted to live together, just you and me, for years now. And that feeling only got stronger when I moved out of the bakery.”

“Okay…” she said slowly, wiping her mouth with her napkin. “But why now? That… that’s a pretty big decision. And I only just moved out.”

“I know. But this last semester has been really hard on both of us.” Adrien took a deep breath. He hated confrontation, but this was the moment for it. It was the best for both of them. “You’ve passed out on dates, you collapsed during that one patrol-”

“Hey, I ended up being fine-”

“You got yourself sick from overworking,” he said, calmly talking over her protest. She didn’t have anything to say to that and simply winced. “It kills me to see you starving yourself, especially when I could be making you breakfasts and lunches and dinners.”

“That…” Marinette looked down at the meal Adrien had made for her and bit her lower lip. “That does sound pretty good.”

“Not to mention, you’re overpaying for your apartment. And all for some creepy weirdo who keeps refusing to do routine maintenance work. If we move in together, I’ve already found a couple places where we can get a better space.” Adrien stood up to pull the paperwork out from where he had hidden it.

Marinette raised her eyebrows at the slim stack he set on the counter. “I see kitty has been doing his research. But I’m still pretty sure that I got the best deal I could.”

“Yes, for a new designer and student’s budget, it was halfway decent. But,” Adrien said as he leaned forward, “now we have two people’s funds to pool together.”

“I don’t know...” Marinette frowned. “I don’t want you burning through your funds just for me.”

“I won’t. I was thinking smaller than what I’ve got here.” Adrien gestured around his upscale apartment. “So, if anything, I’ll be spending less. And that’s not even getting into how we’ll be splitting the rent.”

Tension left Marinette’s shoulders. “Splitting the rent, huh? So you won’t insist on paying for the whole thing then?”

“Of course not!” Adrien smiled and winked. “Can’t have you freeloading, right?” And besides, he knew how she worked. Her paying a third of the rent - still a fraction of what she was shelling out right now - would make her feel much better than getting to live rent free together. 

“I’m not going to lie, kitty… It does sound very tempting.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming up…”

“_But_," she said as she tapped his nose, "I just moved out on my own. What is it going to say about me when I could barely last a semester on my own, let alone a year?”

He reached out and took her hand in his. “Asking for help is a sign of _strength_, bugaboo. Not weakness. We’ve been a team for a lot worse than this - what’s another problem solved by us being partners?”

There was a long pause as Marinette stared off into the distance. Having made all his points, Adrien could only sit and watch as the love of his life mulled the idea over in her head. Eventually, her expression softened into a smile and she looked back at him.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“You’ve convinced me. I’d love for us to move in together.”

“What finally did it? You know,” he shrugged, a grin coming to his face, “just in case I need to persuade you later.”

“I thought about getting to wake up next to you every morning.”

His grin melted away into surprise as his heart skipped a beat. Tears pooled at his eyes, but he resisted crying as he bit his lips. “I’m glad to hear it.”

After staring into each other’s eyes for a few long moments, they returned to their plates.

“So,” Marinette said after a minute passed in a companionable silence, “when are we moving in together?”

“Well, we have until the movers come in after your winter show to decide on a location.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You already hired movers?!”

“I… yes,” Adrien said sheepishly. 

To his relief, Marinette laughed. “Very romantic proposal, kitty.”

“You’ll get your romance when you finish your lasagna. Eat up.”

\-------------------

It had been made clear from the beginning that the winter show wasn’t going to be anything to worry about - although that hadn’t stopped Marinette from stressing over it anyway. But as the student show wound down for the night, Marinette couldn’t help but feel… let down? Bummed? Like she had wasted a whole lot of energy for no real reason.

Sure, the glowing praise from her professors had been wonderful, but after a few months of burning out and having her friends and family worried sick over her? Not really worth it in the end.

Marinette moved between the other students, carefully cradling her pieces as she made her way to the front. Everyone looked as exhausted as she felt, which helped her feel a little better. At least she wasn’t alone in her misery, although she _did_ notice the most tired ones were the new students like her. There weren’t many of the older students around. No surprise, since the crowd hadn’t been that big anyway, mostly consisting of the friends and family of the students. According to one of her more experienced friends, the spring show was when all the talent scouts and recruiters for the big name labels were out and about.

Those thoughts got tucked away in her mind as she ran up to her group of friends plus Chloe, who had brought Kagami along. She was the first to notice Marinette’s approach.

Kagami nodded in greeting, a slight upturn of her mouth and a sparkle in her eye the only sign that she was glad to see her. “Hello again, Marinette. It’s been far too long since I’ve had the pleasure of your company.”

The weight of her creations was starting to get to her, so Marinette gave her a harried smile in return. “Definitely! We should hang out sometime.” She looked at everyone else, who had all turned to look at her. “Hey, guys! Been a while since we’ve all gotten together, huh?”

“Let me get that, sweetheart.” Adrien took the clothes from Marinette’s arms. “And great work on the show!”

“You knocked it out of the park, girl!” Alya gave her a hug now that she wouldn’t crush any of Marinette’s things.

“Totally! And I liked the chill vibes of this show better than some of the ones that my man Adrien has taken me to,” Nino said with a snicker, earning an eye roll from Adrien.

“Hey, you’re the one that had wanted to go despite me telling you how hectic they are.” Adrien looked at Chloe and raised an eyebrow. Chloe huffed.

“Oh, fine,” Chloe said, crossing her arms. “You’ve gotten good, Dupain-Cheng. You’ll definitely be scaring mom’s label, if they don’t snatch you up quick.” She jumped when Kagami put her arm around her waist before relaxing a little. “Or maybe you’ll make your own label and blow her out of the water, hm?” Chloe smirked. 

Marinette laughed nervously, unsure of how to respond. “Um… Thanks!” She turned to everyone else, who was smiling proudly at her. “So… what do you guys want to do now?”

“Out, somewhere. Obviously,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes. “Preferably somewhere with drinks. I need something to wake me up after watching exhausted fashion students panic over coats and jackets.” 

“For once, Chloe is right in principle,” Alya said. “We were thinking of going to a cafe or something since we have the whole gang here for once. You in?”

“Sure!” Marinette glanced at Adrien, still holding her pieces. “Um, we’ll meet up with you after we drop my stuff off. Okay?”

“Of course,” Kagami said. She winked at Marinette as the others began to walk away. “Don’t take too long you two.”

After they had all left and they had stood there awkwardly for a few moments, Adrien asked, “So… your place or mine?”

“Come on, you dork.” Marinette laughed and lead the way out. 

She knew there would be more stress to come - the general crunch time of the season as she worked to get all her Christmas presents done, the two of them moving in together in the next few days, and a whole host of other small crises - but just for tonight, Marinette let the stress fall off her like a discarded cloak.

Tomorrow she could worry her other projects.

The day after, she could stress over the move.

But tonight? Tonight she was going to have fun with the love of her life and all their closest friends.


	11. A Dupain-Cheng Christmas

Marinette wandered around the apartment that she had spent the last few months living in. Somehow, she had expected it to look bigger now that it was empty again, but instead it just made her wonder how she hadn’t noticed how tiny it was. With the excitement of living on her own faded away, the apartment’s flaws were huge and glaring. The faster she would be out of it, the better. 

Just outside the door, Adrien was leaning against the wall on his phone. He looked up at her and smiled when he heard the door close and lock behind her. He fell into step beside her as she marched down the stairs.

“How’s it feel to see it for the last time?” He reached for her hand and wove his fingers between hers. “Nostalgic? Relieved?”

“A little nostalgic, but mostly relieved,” Marinette admitted with a shrug. “I didn’t make a lot of positive memories there, so leaving it behind isn’t that rough. Then again, it _is_ my first place away from home, you know?”

Marinette turned to look at Adrien and saw the understanding in his eyes. Suddenly she wanted to smack herself in the forehead. Of course he knew! He’s been away from home for years now. If anyone could understand, it was him. 

But to her surprise, he nodded and said, “Yeah, leaving the bakery was an… interesting time for me too. There is always something sweet about spending the night there.” He pressed a kiss against the crown of her head. “It isn’t the same without you, of course.”

“Something ‘sweet’, huh? Was that a pun, kitty?” She tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered - she couldn’t tell if it was from joy that he called her home his home, or from pain that he never saw his childhood estate as home. 

“Maybe it was just a happy coincidence. Some Christmas magic in the air!”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Speaking of Christmas, are you ready to spend a few days at the bakery?”

“Definitely! It’ll be nice and cozy and full of life.”

“And someone will finally be making food for _you_ rather than you cooking, for once.”

“I do like taking a break every now and then. But I’m more looking forward to you getting a proper, home cooked meal.”

“And here I thought getting a special lunch everyday from my wonderful boyfriend counted as a ‘proper’ home cooked meal.” She looked up at him and smiled, watching with satisfaction as his face flushed. He was such a flirt, but he never was good at taking what he dealt out. 

The conversation drifted through Christmas plans and promises to find time for their friends. It touched briefly on the upcoming semester, but they wisely avoided dwelling on it for too long. Marinette had only just finished the fall semester after all. She wanted to revel in her break without a care in the world for just a little longer.

They arrived at their new apartment just as the movers began unloading. An hour later, and the empty space was taken up with boxes of things. Marinette looked around at the boxes, her smile slowly turning into a frown as she noticed a unifying theme with the storage containers.

“Hey, Adrien? Where is all of your stuff?”

“Um…” His eyes roved the room quickly before settling on a few tucked away in the back. He stood beside them and let his hand rest on them. “This is it.”

She glanced between him, the five or so containers all stacked on top of each other, and then at the two dozen or so boxes of hers scattered around the room. 

“I… I don’t really have a lot.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I have some games and a collection of movies, but I gave most of that away back when I moved into the bakery. I don’t have a huge wardrobe anymore either. I guess I just… never really got much for me? Besides some pots and pans, I guess.” He shrugged, an uncertain smile on his face.

Again, Marinette looked at the boxes holding all her things. It wasn’t just the bare essentials, things necessary for her to survive from day to do. They were memories. Hobbies. Studies. The things that turned survival into living. She was suddenly gripped by a piercing sadness in her heart. A little teary eyed she turned back to Adrien, who was looking down at his stack of things with a thoughtful expression, fingers drumming on the plastic lid.

“It’s fine, really. I’ve never actually needed much and it does help cut down on stress while moving, so there is definitely a bright side to-” He was cut off when Marinette ran into him, arms clinging tightly to his waist as she buried her face into his chest. After a few surprised moments, he returned her hug.

“Don’t be afraid to take up space, kitty,” Marinette said into his shirt. “Let yourself _live_, okay?”

“Thanks, lovebug.” 

After a little longer than strictly necessary, Marinette let him go and looked around at the boxes, frowning. “So… where do you want to start?”

Before he could respond, her stomach growled.

Adrien laughed. “Sounds like a plan. Let me just-” Adrien groaned when he opened the refrigerator, only to find it empty. “...How about some grocery shopping?”

\-------------

“Are you sure you’ve got all that?” Marinette watched him dubiously as he walked out of the supermarket, each hand holding three or four bags of groceries. “Both of my hands are empty, you know.”

“Oh, right. That’s a good point. Give me a minute.”

Absently, Marinette held out her hand while she opened her phone, expecting him to pass her some of the bags. She blinked in surprise when he started holding her hand instead. Her eyebrows rose when she saw that he’d simply moved all the bags into his other hand.

“Adrien that’s not what I-”

“Come on, let’s go make our first dinner at the new place!” Adrien rushed forward, dragging her along with him as he broke into a light jog towards the bus station. 

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculousness. It wasn’t even a full day that they’d been living together and she was already loving every moment of it.

\---------------

After a week of unpacking, Marinette and Adrien finally had their apartment set up and functional… only for them to immediately leave to spend a few days at the bakery. Each of them carried a suitcase in one hand and held onto each other with the remaining free hand. They chatted as they walked through the snowy streets of Paris on the way to the family bakery, Marinette cuddling closer as the icy wind picked up. 

“Look on the bright side, bugaboo,” Adrien said with a kiss to her temple. “It’ll be nice and warm and perfect when we get back to the apartment. We can just relax for the rest of your vacation.”

“_Our_ vacation,” Marinette corrected. “The bakery isn’t open much around Christmas either, and I’m sure papa and maman won’t be giving you many shifts there while we’re getting settled in. Besides, it's not like being at my parents’ place is stressful or anything.”

“I suppose, but after a semester of running around and working frantically, I’d bet you just want to crash on the couch for a while.”

“You’re not wrong, but…” Marinette said as she squeezed his hand, “...spending time with the people I love is even better.” 

She could see his teary smile as they approached the bakery, its lights reflected in his eyes. After walking out in the chilly late December air for the last ten minutes, the gentle warmth of the bakery was simply divine. And that was before taking a deep breath of the sugary air, a scent that immediately took her back to her childhood. It was as if she took the weight of the world off her shoulders and hung them along with her coat by the door.

“Marinette? Adrien? Is that you?” Tom’s voice called out from the living room. Soon enough, his giant self was emerging through the door frame, his face lighting up when he saw them. “Sabine, it’s the kids!” 

Marinette had a brief glimpse of a garish red and green sweater before becoming lost in it as she was picked up off the ground and wrapped into a great big bear hug. Laughing, she squirmed in his arms.

“Papa! Let me down!” 

Begrudgingly, he did so and looked at Adrien, giving him a strong pat on the back that jolted him forward. “Did you remember to dress for the occasion, son?”

“Did you think I would forget?” Adrien said with a smirk, taking off his coat to reveal a thick red and black wool sweater that Marinette had made for him a couple years back. 

Tom glanced toward Marinette, who was wearing a matching green and black sweater. To everyone else, it would simply be a pair of Christmas clothes, but Marinette had known even back then how much Adrien loved wearing her colors. And if he was going to be wearing hers, then naturally she’d be wearing his. 

“That’s wonderful!” Tom said, grinning. “I didn’t expect any less. Now come on, we were just about ready to make this year’s Christmas ornaments.”

They followed him into the living room, where Sabine was sitting with some tea in front of her. After giving both of them a tamer but no less loving hug, she passed them a cup of her seasonal brew. Marinette looked at the table, taking in the box of crayons, the blank glass bulbs, tweezers, and the two hair dryers. Not to mention a few more conventional art supplies, like brushes and paint. Her chin settled on her hand as she stared fondly at the supplies, a tradition that they’d been keeping alive for almost as long as she could remember. 

A tradition that had evolved into something of a lighthearted competition once Adrien had entered the picture and they could split into even teams. 

Her parents let them get comfortable in their seats and familiar with where everything was placed before Tom pulled out his phone. 

“Same as usual, kids. One hour to make the most and the best ornaments, with the same grading standards from last year.” He waggled a finger at Adrien chastisingly. “Which means nothing that can start a fire hazard, alright?”

Adrien ducked his head bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“Alright.” Tom held up the phone’s stopwatch, his finger hovering over the enlarged start button. “Ready… set… Go!”

The four of them exploded into a flurry of motions, scrambling for crayons and bits of ribbon. Marinette became focused on what she and Adrien were doing, blocking out her parents entirely. The first ornament was very basic - the only crayons were some green and red and a bit of white. Enough to hand over to Adrien so he could start heating it up with the hair dryer, the longest part. 

After she had several ornaments prepped with crayon color pallets, she began working on cutting tasteful amounts of ribbons to top the orbs with. Her hands moved almost by instinct, the long semester having seen more than its fair share of fabric cutting and measurements by eye. By the time she was done with that, Adrien had finished melting the wax of two of the ornaments and was methodically working on the third. The ribbons were quickly tied into a neat bow and she began delicately painting wintery scenes on the outside - white snowflakes featuring heavily alongside flowing script. 

Once they got into a groove, they worked like the well oiled machine that they always were. By the time the hour was up, there were eleven finished ornaments in front of them. A quiet sense of pride filled her as she looked them over. Now that she wasn’t timed, she could enjoy how good they turned out. Maybe one of these years she could add them to her online store as a seasonal special? 

She looked over at her parents’ side and noticed that they had managed to squeeze in an extra one somehow. After some playfully heated debate, they decide that everyone had won, though it had been especially close this year.

The Christmas tree was adorned with the newest ornaments, but Marinette didn’t manage to hang more than one before she got caught up looking at ones from previous years. Most of them would be given away to friends and family, but the best they kept. Whether it was because they were the highest quality or the ones that were the heaviest with memories, it didn’t matter. 

Her fingers traced over a particularly old one, and a small smile warmed her face at the memories it stirred.

“Adrien’s first Christmas here, right?” 

Marinette jolted a little at her mother’s voice appearing right beside her. The expression on her face must have been similar to Marinette’s own, eyes distant as if seeing back into that night, years and years ago, when the two of them had just started dating.

“Yeah… he made this one himself,” Marinette replied, turning back to the hung decoration.

It was pretty clear it had been his first attempt at anything like that before. The white and pink of the wax didn’t cover the inside completely and patches of bare glass were frequent. A stick figure with pigtails holding hands with a plain stick figure Adrien had promised was the two of them standing under a green splodge that she was assured was mistletoe. It wasn’t the prettiest thing he’d made - as the years wore on and he spent more Christmases at her home, he’d certainly gotten better - but it was always stayed her favorite. 

Adrien groaned when he saw what they were looking at, his cheeks flushing as red as his sweater. “Do we really need to stare at that one _every_ year? It looks awful!”

“It’s cute!” Marinette patted his back. “Little baby Adrien made that one just for me.”

Adrien grumbled and looked away, his blush spreading down to his neck. Mercifully, she let go of the ornament and walked away.

The rest of the night was just as eventful. They baked cookies and sang while they did it, ranging from peaceful lullabies to loud and off-key pop songs. Marinette didn’t realize just how much she had missed the home cooked pastries until she bit into one for the first time in months. 

She has halfway through a plate when there was a loud noise from the kitchen. Her papa came out, his apron soaked, but still in good spirits.

“Something happen in there?” Marinette said, raising an eyebrow as she lifted another cookie to her mouth. She had to remember to leave some for Tikki or else she wouldn’t speak to her for a month. 

“Oh, don’t worry, dear,” Tom replied. “The kitchen sink just needs some attention is all. Adrien, can you get the toolbelt? I think it’s time for us to earn our keep, hm?” He smiled and winked. 

While Adrien left her side, she settled into the empty space he left and closed her eyes. She was glad she had a home to come back to - and she was happy that she could share hers with Adrien. A satisfied smile came to her face as she thought about their living space now, and how much better it would be now that they were living together again.

The snow started coming down hard outside, but wrapped up in a warmth that went beyond the physical, Marinette didn’t mind a bit.


	12. A Little Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter! My beta's internet was wonky for a few days and life has been busy besides. 
> 
> Enjoy! <3

It was a surreal feeling, being back in her old bed after spending the last few months out of the bakery. Marinette was a little miffed that she got nostalgic so quickly, but after how rough that semester was… maybe it was for the best. A little piece of safety and normalcy in the rough waters she was going through. 

Her pencil stilled as she listened to the happy noises filtering up from below her. She smiled to herself, easily picking out the musical tones of Adrien’s laughter. It was that laughter, standing out so starkly against the sound of falling rain and the rumble of thunder, that she remembers most clearly about the day that she fell in love with him. That, and those bright green eyes so full of kindness.

She resumed her sketching, idly committing some ideas to paper. It may still be Christmas break, but that was no excuse to not get a head start on the spring designs. If the end of year show was anything like she was led to believe, then she’d need to do even better than what she had done for the winter show. To her surprise, thinking about all that work didn’t fill her with dread like she had been expecting. Instead, a fire lit in her gut.

“I know that look,” came a small voice beside her. Marinette glanced back at her kwami munching on a cookie as she continued, “That’s the ‘I’m on top of the world and nothing can stop me’ look.”

Marinette snorted and poked Tikki’s belly, causing her to giggle . “I didn’t realize I was so expressive.”

“Of course! You’re a very open person, Marinette. It’s one of the many things I like about you.” Tikki looked around the room with a knowing smirk. “Although that openness with your feelings has taken many forms over the years. Remember when you plastered Adrien’s face all over these walls?”

“Tikki!” Marinette said, mortified. She remembered that most of them were still up by the time she’d gone on her first date with Adrien. 

The kwami giggled. “Don’t worry! I’m just saying, when you feel things you can’t help but let those feelings out. It’s nothing to be embarrassed by.”

Marinette relaxed a little. “I suppose… And besides, I’ve traded in the pictures for the real deal. Fourteen year old me would be _so_ jealous of me now.”

“Going to a premier design school, living together with Adrien, defeated Hawkmoth.” Tikki looked at her chosen with a warm smile. “There is a lot for past you to look forward to, isn’t there?”

Marinette leaned her head back and considered what Tikki had said. Rushing from one thing to another for the past two years, and juggling akuma battles with normal life for four years before that, she supposed she hadn’t really considered it like that. Practically every goal she’d made when she was a kid had been met, with the exception of making her own fashion brand. But with how well her online boutique was doing, even that might not be just a dream for much longer. 

The smile on her face remained a constant feature for the rest of her stay at the bakery and if Adrien noticed that she cuddled him just a little bit tighter that night… well, he didn’t complain.

\--------------

Adrien let out a big sigh as he stepped through the door to their apartment, taking a few weary steps before plopping himself face first down onto the couch.

From the doorway Marinette giggled. He practically purred when she ran her fingers through his hair as she said, “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

“It’s the _exact_ level of dramatic I intend to keep up going forward,” Adrien said, lifting his face just high enough to meet her amused smile. “So you’d better get used to it.”

“Oh, kitty,” she said, “I got used to it a long time ago.” She pulled her hand away and Adrien pouted at her. “We can watch a show or something in just a minute. I need to start some laundry so I can at least pretend to be busy while we goof off.”

Adrien dragged himself into a seating position to call after her teasingly as she walked out of the room. “You know, you might have a problem with having to stay busy all the time!”

“Yeah, yeah,” she yelled back. “Tell me something new.”

“New? Well, now you’ll have me here to help you all the time.”

There was a pause. “Good. Because I think I could use some help. Like right now?” He recognized her tone as the one she used a lot as Ladybug - the one that allowed no negotiation or hesitation. 

Curious, he stood up and marched after her. Inside the washroom, he found Marinette frantically pressing buttons as the washing machine made a strange rumbling noise. Soapy water poured out onto the floor and Adrien leaped into action, tossing towels onto the ground to buy them some time. 

Marinette glanced at him while he did so. “That’s good, but it doesn’t fix the main problem.” She huffed at the machine, glaring at it in the hopes that it would spontaneously fixed itself. Sadly, it did not. “I’ll call a repairman.”

Adrien thought back to a couple nights ago, when Tom fixed the dishwasher by himself. This was a part of his duties now, right? “No, wait! Let me fix it!”

“You don’t know _how_ to-”

“I might - we won’t know for sure unless I try, right?” At Marinette’s doubtful look, he pouted. “I know I’m not good at a lot of normal person things, but I have to at least try to get better.”

“Adrien…” She looked at his pouting face and sighed. “Alright, go ahead and try.”

“Yes!” Adrien immediately set to work. After tinkering with the washer for a few minutes he’d established two things - first, that it was definitely not working properly, and second that he had no idea where to go after that. After tentatively searching the machine, he found a hatch in the back and set off to find some tools to help him open it.

After making sure the washer was unplugged he began poking around the insides of it, making more realizations. First, absolutely nothing looked familiar. Which was to be expected since Tom usually said that he’d handle it and let the rest of them relax. And the policy while he was living at the mansion was to either call for the help to fix or replace the whole thing entirely. Usually the latter since… well, his father never wanted more people than necessary to be inside the mansion. 

Adrien frowned as he started getting distracted by old memories. After an hour of it and a mounting frustration from his failure to get any closer to fixing the washer, he dropped his screwdriver and walked back into the living room. Marinette was at the couch on her phone. He caught a glimpse of what she was looking on as he joined her - Local handyman and their rates. 

His shoulders hunched, he asked, “Already knew I was gonna fail, huh?”

She tugged on his sleeve and he obliged, settling his head on her lap. Her free hand combed through his hair and he relaxed into the touch. If he were behind the mask at the moment, he’d have been purring.

“Kitty, you don’t know how to fix it _and that’s okay_,” she whispered in a consoling tone. “You don’t have to be good at everything to be loved, alright?”

He did his best to cry as quietly as possible while she was on the phone. He smiled through the tears because he knew he wasn’t crying for his lack of affection early in his life, but because of the unconditional love he had now.

The thought reminded Adrien that, with all that had happened recently, it was about time to make another visit soon.

\--------------------

Next week, Marinette was visiting Alya for the afternoon which left Adrien alone for the day. It was finally time to make the trip. Adrien didn’t enjoy going much, but he always felt better after he went.

The first stop was to find some flowers. Adrien knew that she would appreciate them. Being in the dead of winter, it was hard to find some Sharry Baby orchids, but he didn’t give up. Four stores later and he ended up having to purchase a bouquet of fake ones. It wasn’t much - they didn’t even have a scent - but he was sure she would appreciate it. Orchids had always been her favorite. A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. Weird how those sort of things had stuck with him.

It was a long walk to the park, but the cold had never really bothered him and it meant that he was mostly alone with his thoughts. On days where he went to visit, he didn’t really feel like being social. There was just him, the crunching of snow beneath his feet, and the quiet snoring of his kwami that he more felt than heard. 

Eventually his wandering brought him to the base of a statue and he looked up in the kind but stony eyes of his mother. The sculptor had depicted her staring ahead, her hands folded in her lap as she sat forever on a stone pedestal. After everything that had happened, he couldn’t bear to leave it at the mansion, especially not after he had sold it. His mother’s side of the family had expressed some interest in having it taken home, but no one protested when he decided to donate it to a flourishing park. 

Maybe they didn’t fight for it because they knew that was what she would have wanted - not to have her statue stashed away and hoarded like his father had done, but let it sit inside the bounty of nature. She had always loved plants and flowers and taking care of them. It was another thing he was sure she and Marinette would have bonded over. Adrien smiled. Marinette may have decided on a designer and he knew she would go far in it, but she would’ve made an excellent florist too. 

His thoughts returned back to the other side of his family. Maybe they let him keep the statue close by because they’d taken his mother across the channel to be buried with the rest of her family, far away from Adrien and Gabriel. After losing her for a second time, maybe they had felt bad for him, and left him the statue out of pity. 

Not that Adrien minded, of course. He had long since gotten used to talking with the statue over some grave marker. Much more pleasant scenery too. 

Adrien sniffled and pretended it was just the cold messing with his nose.

After putting the bouquet on his mother’s cold lap, Adrien took a seat on the bench facing her and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket to keep from fidgeting.

“Hey, mom,” he began in a whisper. “I know it’s been a while, but things got pretty crazy for a bit. I meant to visit after the anniversary, but, well…” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, it’s been a hectic few months.”

He swallowed, trying to order his thoughts. “Chloe’s back in town. I think the time in America with Audrey really opened her eyes to what she _doesn’t_ want to be. Plus, she got back with Kagami, so I really think she’s getting better.”

The statue didn’t respond.

“You remember Nino and Alya, right? I’ve told you about them a ton. They’re doing great. Super busy these days, but we find time every now to hang out.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his legs. “I wish I had what they do. That… certainty of what they want out of life. I just feel… a little lost, you know?”

He risked a look back at his mother’s eyes and found that same kind expression.

“Marinette - I _know_ you remember her, I’ve talked about her enough - she’s been such a huge help, though. She really is my light.” He stared off into space for a moment, a dreamy smile on his face. He shook his head to pull himself out of it. “Uh, anyway. She started university. She was really worrying me there for a while, but she’s doing better now. But here’s the big news - we moved in! Well,” he added after a moment, “we had lived together before, but now we don’t have her parents to worry about and well-” He blushed and coughed.

“I just… It’s good to be surrounded by people I love and who love me back. It’s…” he looked up at her eyes and held her stony gaze. “...it’s been a while.” He sighed.

A soft wind blew through the clearing, gently caressing Adrien’s face. He inhaled and caught the scent of Sharry Baby orchids on the air.

Adrien felt at peace and continued his one sided conversation with a happier heart.


	13. Bliss

Her feet aching from the long week of classes fresh out of winter break, Marinette shambled up the stairs and blearily stood in front of the door to her shared home. Her faint hope that it would open on its own extinguished. A few long moments passed before she worked up the energy to open the door, slowly lifting her tired arms as if every centimeter of movement was an absolute chore. 

As she stepped into the apartment, she was vaguely aware of the meat and vegetables sitting out on the kitchen counter, but much more important was the mop of blonde hair and the strong back poking out from behind the couch. At the sound of the door closing, Adrien looked behind him with an expression that started off curious before lighting up with a bright smile. 

“Bugaboo! Amazing timing as usual, I was just about to get up and-” He was cut off as she plopped onto the couch, resting her head on his lap as she curled up into a more comfortable position, “-and make dinner, but I guess we can sit here for a little while.” Picking up the remote, he turned down the volume of the show on the television. “Wanna talk about it?”

She groaned and reached out her hand, groping around until she found his. Dragging her prize, she dropped his hand onto the back of her head. 

Adrien laughed, a sound that was already soothing her aching muscles. His hands began playing with her hair and she sighed in satisfaction. “Poor tired bug. I can’t imagine just sewing and studying all day make you this tuckered out. Did you go to the gym after classes too? I keep telling you that you have to start smaller.”

Marinette was too tired to contribute much to the conversation, but just having him there, listening to him, feeling his touch on her, was doing wonders for her. It was just as heavy a burden she was carrying as last semester. But with him here? It felt so much lighter. She didn’t feel as though she were falling apart at the seams any more.

\----------------

Adrien turned off the television and ran his fingers through his hair. His shift at the bakery had ended hours ago, leaving him waiting for Marinette to get back from school. The grumbling of his stomach got louder as he glanced back at the untouched selection of ingredients he’d assembled on the kitchen counter. He didn’t really want to start cooking until she got back. 

After all, the time she got home each day was pretty arbitrary. Weeks into the semester and he still struggled to keep track of all her commitments, between student organizations, classes, study groups, and extra design work time. Yet another skill his coddled early years had deprived him of. 

He sighed and opened the door to their balcony. The chill of winter was receding fast and the late March night was surprisingly warm. Leaning against the railing, he took a deep breath of the fresh air and stared out into the glimmering lights of the Parisian night. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Adrien jolted, but quickly relaxed when Ladybug landed beside him. His sly smirk was undercut by the soft blush he could already feel spreading across his cheeks. “Yes, you are.” He took her hand and kissed it. “I didn’t know the great hero Ladybug made house calls?”

“She’s been known to make an exception for her favorite civilians.” She smiled teasingly as she closed the distance between them, their faces centimeters apart. “Or at least, the particularly handsome ones.” 

“Don’t let Chat Noir hear that,” he whispered into her ear. “I hear he’s the jealous type.” His arms wrapped around her, pulling her flush against him.

“Somehow, I don’t think he’ll mind what I’ve got planned for you tonight,” she said, pressing a chaste kiss against his lips.

“And what do you have planned, hm?”

“You’re about to find out.” Suddenly, she had one arm wrapped around him and with the other pulled out her yo-yo. Before he knew it, he was sailing over Paris and latching onto her. Despite the speed and the heights, he wasn’t afraid. Not just because he’d done this plenty of times as Chat before, but because he had absolute faith in her. She would never let him down - literally, in this case.

Before long, they had landed on the rooftop of a building that stood a story taller than the ones around it. Still holding onto his tiny, superpowered girlfriend, he looked around. His eyes widened when he saw the candlelit dinner with boxed chinese food, a single rose in a vase completing the scene. 

His heart melted, but a thought caused him to fall into a giggle fit.

“What’s so funny, oh handsome civilian who is on the fast track to the couch tonight?”

He bit down on his lower lip and looked at her with eyes that glimmered with mirth. “I was just thinking… if I told fourteen year old Adrien that this was happening - that _Ladybug_ made a romantic dinner just for us - I know that either his heart would explode from happiness or he just wouldn’t believe me.”

The annoyance in her eyes melted away, replaced with gentle love. She rocked forward on her toes to press a kiss against his cheek. 

“Better believe it, sunshine. You aren’t the only one that knows their way around romance. And I’m definitely not going anywhere.”

He took her hand and held it between his. There were so many things that he wanted to say to her, but he just couldn’t find the words. Instead, he simply whispered, “I know.”

She seemed to understand as she slowly walked away and towards the dinner she had set. She pulled out his seat for him. Laughing, he sat down. 

“Such a gentleman!”

She rolled her eyes with a smile and took the seat opposite him. They chatted while they ate, filling each other in on what they’d been doing that day. The food was wonderful and even if he hadn’t seen the logo on the boxes, he would have known it just from the taste. The Chinese restaurant was a favorite of theirs when they went on casual dates. Marinette’s mom was friends with the owners, and they’d all gone as a family plenty of times during the years he’d dated Marinette. 

Adrien trailed off in the middle of explaining one customer’s particularly strange order when he heard music filtering up from the building below them. He glanced back at Ladybug, who was smugly watching him. 

“...Are we above a symphony’s practice studio?”

“Mhm,” she hummed in confirmation.

Deciding she was being far too smug for her own good, he stood up, offering her his hand as he rose from a bow. “Would you do me the honor of a dance, my lady?”

Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks and she flailed her arms around her face. “Adrien, you know I can’t-”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. His other hand found its familiar spot on her lower back as he held her close to himself. He smiled down at her as she looked up at him, stunned for a moment. He decided in that moment, as he had many times before, that love was a good look on her. 

As they settled into their dance, Adrien nuzzled against the top of her head as they twirled in gentle circles across the rooftop. He breathed deep, letting her scent - strawberries and cookies and a hundred other sweet things - fill him and bring peace to his weary spirit.

\-----------------

Adrien finished his story and took a sip of his coffee, made exactly how he liked it. The cafe they’d chosen was quickly becoming a favorite and not only because it was right between their current living spaces. 

Nino chuckled and shook his head. “Geez, dude. You two are made for each other, no doubt about it.”

“Jealous of our romance, bro?”

“Not a chance. Me and Alya are doing just fine with our chill love. But you two? With your over the top declarations of love? You two got each other to save everyone else from the sickeningly sick vibes and plots.”

“Hm…” Adrien put his chin in his hand, propped up on the table. Tapping his cheek he gave it some thought before nodding. “Definitely jealous then.” Nino scoffed. “Hey, you should have said something sooner! I’m sure Marinette wouldn’t mind if I brought _you_ up to a rooftop for a candlelit dinner. Just so you could see what it’s like.”

Nino covered his face in his hands, but couldn’t hide the laughter bubbling out of him. “Yeah sure, dude. I’m just saying - you two tend to go crazy with romance, so it works out nice that you ended up with each other.”

“It’s _way_ better than nice, man.” Adrien smiled with what he knew was a dopey grin - knew, but didn’t care. “Being with her - _living_ with her - is a dream come true.”

“I figured it would be. I’m psyched for you guys - both of you are loads better when you’re not by yourselves, so it makes a ton of sense for you to move in.”

“What about you and Alya?”

Nino laughed. “After years of being stuck in crowded apartments with tons of siblings, we’re actually enjoying the space apart. But,” he said, grinning at his coffee, “after seeing what you and M have, I’m starting to like the idea more and more.” He made a dismissive gesture and leaned back in his chair, one arm over the back. “But that’s a while down the road. We’re supes happy with our set up right now.”

“I’m happy for you, man,” Adrien said softly. He took another long sip of drink, letting his mind wander. “Things are looking up, aren’t they?”

“They sure are, my bro.” Nino raised his coffee toward Adrien and they clinked their cups in a toast. “They sure are.” Nino took a quick gulp and leaned forward. “What else has been going down? I bet you’ve got a lotta sappy stories now that you two are together every day, so spill.”

They talked for another hour, exchanging stories about their girlfriends, about working with Jagged Stone, about the crazy customers the bakery had seen. He was glad they had managed to sneak in this time to hang out together, despite how busy both of them were. Adrien would always treasure Nino’s friendship, the first real friend he had made at school - his first, and his best.

\----------------

Marinette stretched, reaching her hands far above her head as she worked out the aches from sitting still for so long. The dress in front of her was almost finished, but she needed to take a break before she could continue. If Adrien weren’t working at the bakery for the weekend, he’d have approved.

Her stretch brought her to her feet and then her toes, which then turned into wiggling her hips vaguely in time with the music that was filling the apartment. It felt liberating, dancing in her spotted pajamas in an old black t-shirt she’d stolen from Adrien years ago, hair hanging free. She was making great progress with that commission and she knew it. The dress could wait a few minutes while she had a little fun. 

Sure, it was already the middle of April and the spring show was getting closer, but even that didn’t bother her. Speaking of, she was supposed to get a letter soon concerning how many front row tickets she’d be reserving for friends and family. After giving it a moment’s consideration, she opted to just head down to the mail room as she was. Who cares if someone saw her in her pajamas? 

The song stayed in her head and she hummed along to it as she quickly went down the stairs. She grabbed the mail and started leafing through it as she returned the way she came. Her eyes widened just as she reached the door, hand hesitating at the door knob when she recognized the writing on one of the letters. 

The surprise evaporated under a withering tide of anger. She knew what she’d read if she opened the letter - excuses, protests, and blame directed at Adrien. Of all the limited talents that Gabriel possesed, self-reflection was not among them. 

She shoved it roughly in the basket with the rest of his letters, only barely resisting tossing it in the trash. As she changed her playlist to something a little more energetic to help her blow off steam, she decided that Adrien didn’t need to know he had gotten any mail at all today.

And everyone would be happier for it.


	14. Baby Steps

Marinette’s foot tapped a rapid tempo as she watched the final preparations for the dry run of the spring show from her chair near the changing rooms. She wasn’t sure what it looked like from the seats, but backstage it was a sort of ordered chaos, not unlike backstage at the Jagged Stone concert a few months ago. Except, this time the stakes were far more personal.

Her nerves were shot to pieces, but that was about what she expected. This show was the culmination of everything she’d been working towards for the entire semester. Her fellow students had pulled out their best work as well and it was all she could do not to rush to her pieces and do even more last minute adjustments. 

A hand settled itself over her knee and stilled her fidgeting. She blinked up at Adrien who was smiling at her patiently, wearing one of her spring outfits. Crouching down in front of her, he brought his eyes level to hers. 

“You must think I’m freaking out over nothing,” she said, hunching her shoulders and looking away. “I know, this isn’t much compared to… um, everything else we've done, but…” 

“No, I don’t think that at all,” Adrien replied, touching her chin to gently guide her gaze back to his. “It’s your first real fashion show with a bunch of people giving their all to make an impression. People are watching now, people whose opinions are listened to in the world of fashion.”

“You’ve only gotten better at these pep talks over the years, kitty,” Marinette said dryly. 

“Let them watch. I know for a fact that you are one of the best designers here, if not _the_ best. And I’ll be right here for the entire time, doing my damnedest to show off your amazing work. They’re going to see you just like I see you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “As the amazing.” A kiss to her temple. “Wonderful.” Her cheek. “Talented.” A chaste kiss to her lips. “Designer who is going to rock the entire fashion industry to its core.” His hands left her knees and took her hands. “And I’ll be right there, cheering you on every step of the way.”

Between the nerves and the stress and his sweet words, it took all of Marinette’s will not to turn into a crying mess right then and there. Instead, she hugged his neck and whispered thanks into his ear. 

As he pulled away, she first noticed the lack of his warmth. Quickly following that was the realization that he had grabbed her coffee.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, sweetie,” Adrien said, taking a large sip. “I told you no coffee or energy drinks till the show is over. We both know that they make you more anxious than you usually are and only barely help.” 

“But… tasty…”

“I’ll make you a fruit smoothie when we’re done, I promise.” He took a few steps backwards and gave her a very Chat-like wink before tossing the remainder of the cup into the garbage and taking his place in the line up.

Marinette crossed her arms and grumbled to herself. “Stupid boyfriend, trying to have my best interests at heart…”

\-------------------

Marinette clenched the fabric of her skirt in her hands, desperate to release any of the nervous energy she was holding onto. Meanwhile, Alya reached for a macaroon. Halfway toward getting it to her mouth, Alya noticed Marinette’s distress and raised her eyebrows.

“You wanna talk about it, girl?”

Marinette dragged her eyes away from where Tikki and Trixx were chasing each other in the kitchen, and looked at her friend. “Actually, if we could talk about anything _but_ the upcoming show, that’d be great.”

“Are you sure? Talking it out might help you get some of that frustration out.”

“At this point, it’s just me over thinking things. I’m happy with where my designs are, but I keep imagining them in my head, looking for anything that could go wrong.” She sighed and buried her face in her hands. “I just… need to think about something else.” Poking out from behind her fingers, she asked, “So how’s work?”

“Oh they’re about to send me out of country on some dangerous missions. But it’s all to bring the truth to the people, so that’s all that matters, right M?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and her hands ceased her fidgeting to instead cover her mouth, which had opened into a small ‘o’. “Really?!”

“No.”

All the tension that had suddenly appeared in Marinette’s shoulders vanished as quick as it had appeared. She leaned across the couch to smack Alya. “Not cool, Al! You really worried me!”

“Sorry,” Alya replied with a snicker. “But nah, they’ve still got me doing local news stories. Which isn’t so bad, Paris is a pretty interesting place after all. Even without the supervillains.” Alya took a deep sip of her glass of red wine, a constant companion of their girls’ night in days. “And don’t get me wrong - I get why they don’t want to give the big, juicy stuff to the newbie reporter.”

“But…?” Marinette prompted when Alya starting staring into space, biting her lower lip.

“But… I’m starting to get restless again. I feel that energy from back when I was doing the Ladyblog - always something to do back then! An akuma to track down, a victim to interview, puzzle pieces to put together.” She absently swirled her wine glass. “A lot of freedom too...”

“You’re getting that look again.”

“Look?”

“Mhm. Your game face. You want your next big challenge.” She gently shoved Alya’s shoulder. “And go for it, Al! You can still do your job while having something on the side. A passion project or something.”

Alya considered this with another sip of her wine. 

“You might be onto something there, girl.” She nudged her with her elbow. “But hey! Talking is only part of what we came here to do. How about we start up a bad rom com?” Marinette groaned. “Oh, hush. You’re basically a living rom com anyway, with how you and Adrien are.”

While Marinette sputtered and tried to argue, Alya cackled as she ducked out of Marinette’s reach to put the dvd in. 

\--------------

“How I missed Paris,” Chloe sighed as she stepped outside of the fashion boutique, carrying two large bags of the latest styles. “You should see some of the things I saw Americans wearing. Ridiculous, Adrikins. Absolutely ridiculous.”

Adrien chuckled as he fell into step beside her, the padding of his comfortable shoes drowned out by the confident clicking of Chloe’s heels. “So that’s all you missed while you were abroad, Chlo?”

Chloe peered at him over her large sunglasses. “Coy isn’t a good look on you. But no,” she added after a moment, “I suppose I missed the people too. You. Kagami.” Adrien watched her patiently and eventually she groaned and stamped her feet. “Okay, fine! Even Alya, Nino, and Marinette.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” Adrien said, giving her a thumbs up. “They’re certainly warming up to you too.”

“Right. Good. Not that I care, or anything.” Chloe sniffed and walked just a little bit faster. Adrien fought down a smile - he could recognize Chloe running away from her feelings any day of the week. Which is why he was surprised when she slowed down again, just before they reached her living space. When she spoke, it was more of a whisper. “So mom called again.”

The smirk he’d been wearing vanished in an instant, a serious expression replacing it. “What did she want this time?”

“Same as usual,” Chloe replied while swiping her card at the gate. “She was asking when I’d be coming back. It’s getting harder to tell her that I won’t be.”

“You’ll have to eventually,” Adrien said patiently. “You’ve already put it off for more than six months now.”

“Duh, Adrien. I get that part.” There was venom in her voice, but it was half-hearted and gone by the time she continued. “But knowing that and actually doing something about it aren’t the same thing.”

“You’ll get there eventually,” Adrien said, putting a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “And it’s alright to be scared. She dominated your life for a long time. No one is expecting you to get over that overnight.”

“Yeah… I guess…”

“If you want, I can be there when you call.” Adrien brightened up and said, “And you can invite Kagami too! She’s got a lot of experience at telling parents to back off, so I bet she’d be willing to give a few tips.”

Chloe smirked. “You might be onto something there. If I freeze up, maybe she can even take over and chew out dear old mom for me.”

“There’s the spirit!” Adrien held up his hand. “High fives for spunky Asian girlfriends!”

Laughing, Chloe managed to high five him. “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.” They stepped into her apartment. She stopped and frowned at the air. “You know what I just realized?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s not just about taking out the toxic people in your life. You need to add good people if you want to heal.” She smiled at him. It was a rare smile on Chloe - there was no smugness, no spite to it. Just honest joy and peace. “I’m glad you’ve been in my life all these years, Adrien. Even when I didn’t deserve it, you were always a good friend.”

She hugged him and after a moment of hesitation he returned the hug. 

“That’s the thing, Chloe. You always did deserve a good friend. You just didn’t realize it.”

\---------------

Adrien as Chat Noir slipped in through their shared balcony after a long day hanging out with Chloe. He was emotionally spent after doing all he could to help his old friend and at this point all he wanted to do was curl up next to Marinette and go to sleep. 

That plan had a slight hiccup when he looked up to see Marinette walking around in a circle, staring at one of her outfits for the spring show. It was actually one of the ones that _he_ would be wearing, but the important fact was that it had been finished weeks ago. Specifically because it was so easy to get the measurements done. 

“Hey, kitty,” she said absently, never once taking her eyes off of the outfit. 

“Hey, love bug.” He walked behind her and put his arms around her waist, tucking his chin on the space between her shoulder and neck. This close, he could practically _feel_ her exhaustion, from the way her body was sagging a little, to how her eyes struggled to stay open even as she focused on the task at hand. She needed sleep, even if she pretended like she didn’t. “Whatcha you looking at?”

She sighed. “Just… going over all my pieces for the show. Again. I need to make sure everything is perfect.”

“Hm…” he made a show of peering at the spring outfit. “Looks perfect to me. Why don’t you give it a once over in the morning, huh?”

“No, no, that’s alright. I might as well get it done now.” She squirmed a little against his embrace, but didn’t really try to escape. 

Changing tactics, Adrien said, “Well, I’m going to bed. It was a long day today… I could use some cuddles.”

“Uh-huh,” Marinette replied distantly. Her focus was entirely on the mannequin in front of her. “Go to bed, I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Well, I didn’t want to have to do this, but…” Quickly changing his grip, Adrien picked her up in a princess carry. Marinette squeaked in protest as she was carried to the bedroom. 

“Adrien! I’m-”

“-driving yourself crazy trying to find non existent flaws? I agree completely. Besides, you’re practically dead on your feet.”

“I am not,” Marinette said with a yawn. Her already feeble struggles had turned into her resting her head on his chest, eyes fluttering as she tried to keep them open.

“Mhm. If you really want to worry yourself sick again, you can do that in the morning.” He gently set her in bed and pulled the blankets over her. “Claws in.” A flash of green light later and he was crawling in beside her. “But for now - sleep.”

“No, I don’t want to,” she said, but she was already clinging onto him, eyes shut and face buried into his chest as she drifted off to sleep.

Adrien listened to her steady breathing as he stroked her hair, feeling himself follow her into unconsciousness.


	15. Spring Show

Marinette stood behind stage, lurking near the curtains as she took quick peeks out at the unfolding show. Everything was going just as planned - the models certainly knew what they were doing as they strutted down the catwalk, the building was packed full of people, it all looked professional and high end, just like a real fashion show. 

Maybe that was why she was freaking out so much. Because just like a real fashion show, there were critics in the crowd. People with notepads and discerning looks and frowning face coldly regarding the models wearing the product of five months of hard work. Today was a big day - either her pieces would get picked apart or they’d be praised highly. Or even worse - no one at all would comment on them. 

If she got critiqued, it would suck and she’d feel awful, but it’d at least be helpful. She could use that to improve herself, find out where she was going wrong and fix it. Praise would be even better - with a glowing review, she’d get an edge on the competition. It would be an extra lucky charm in her arsenal when going out into the big scary world that was the fashion industry.

But not getting any attention at all? Good or bad? 

Sometimes being forgotten was the worst outcome of them all. 

Her train of thought derailed when she saw Adrien walk down the stage. While it was impossible for her to forget just how handsome he was, seeing him like this was something else entirely. The light caught on his hair, making it gleam like gold. His stride down the catwalk was full of the confidence of someone who had been practicing for almost as long as they could walk. Her jaw dropped, but the best part was when he turned around and began walking back. His emerald eyes flickered to where she was, pinning her in place. 

The boy had the audacity to wink, making her heart melt and flutter uncontrollably at the same time. Before too long, he was slipping his arms around her waist again, pressing a kiss the side of her face.

“Enjoying the show, lovebug?” He murmured in her ear. 

She wiggled around to face him, looking up at his too-smug face. He was too cute for his own good and he _knew_ it, which was even worse. 

“I’m terrified out of my mind, but yes, it is nice to watch my boyfriend strut his stuff.”

He laughed, honest and pure. “Don’t worry, we’re doing great. Looking good isn’t even a challenge when you’ve given me such a great wardrobe to work with.” He cupped her cheeks and pressed a short but tender kiss to her lips. “I gotta get changed. I’ll be back after my next walk.”

She sighed after him before turning her attention back to the show. Adrien wasn’t the only one modeling her pieces, after all, and she needed to gauge the crowd’s reaction to everything. 

\--------------------

If she thought that the show itself was bad, she hadn’t counted on what the _after_ show was going to be like. Normally, she wasn’t exactly shy around people, but with her nerves frayed from the constant worry and knowing how much was riding on making a good impression on people… she wasn’t at her best.

Which made her all the more thankful for the friendly faces she saw arrive in support of her. Not just the ones she had made during her time at university - many of whom had shared the show with her - but older ones as well. 

It was amazing how many of her friends from school had showed up to support their old class president. Rose had greeted her with a flying hug, followed by a more subdued one from Juleka. They were still going strong after all these years. Max and Kim and Odine gave their congratulations as well, as if she had already gotten some part in a big fashion house. Their faith in her was touching, and did a lot to calm her. But not nearly as much as when she saw a familiar wave of red hair forcing its way towards her.

“Girl! We’re so proud of you!” Alya said as she finally broke free of the crowd, wrapping her up in a hug. Hot on her heels was Nino, Chloe, and Kagami. 

“Totally, dude!” Nino said, giving Marinette a hug as well once Alya gave her some breathing room. “All your stuff was absolutely swank!”

“Thanks you guys!” Marinette smiled widely at the two of them. Her eyes looked past them to Chloe, who noticed her stare.

“What do you want me to say? You did a great job; do you really need me to tell you that?” Chloe stumbled forward and huffed at Kagami. “Okay, fine. Your stuff wouldn’t have looked out of place at the New York runways I’ve been to.”

Kagami nodded approvingly before stepping up to Marinette and offering a shallow bow. The two of them locked eyes for a moment before giggling and sharing a hug. 

“Don’t let her gruff exterior fool you - Chloe really was impressed by everything you put out. Given her upbringing, that means a lot.” As they pulled away, Kagami shot a meaningful glance toward Adrien and smiled. “But I suppose you already have someone like that.”

“Anyway - girl.” Alya grabbed Marinette’s shoulders and turned her so she was facing Alya. “This is a _way_ big deal, so we’re gonna head over to your place and get ready to party. That alright by you?”

Marinette sagged in relief, the tension leaving her as she thought about what she had to look forward to after getting home. “After the past few weeks, I really need to unwind.” She narrowed her eyes. “But you better not get drunk before I get there. I want to relax, not babysit.”

“Chill, dude,” Nino said. “We’re gonna be bringing some stuff so we can just spend the night.” His face split into a grin. “The party is gonna be off the chain!”

Marinette and Adrien waved as their best friends left. More people came up to Marinette - professors, her parents, more of the people she knew from university. But there was one person that she didn’t know that stopped her just as the after party was winding down. 

“Miss Dupain-Cheng?” The stranger said. She was sharply dressed in formal attire with a serious expression on her face. 

“Um… yes? Hello, have we met?”

“Not yet, no. But there _is_ something that we need to talk about…”

\------------

Adrien took the lead going home since Marinette was still too dazed to focus on such mundane details. She took another glance at the letter in her hand. Apparently it was one of only a handful of such letters, and the only one that had gotten handed out tonight. While she felt bad for her other classmates, that took a backseat to the overwhelming joy she felt coursing through her system.

Inside the envelope was an offer for a prestigious internship at a famous fashion house. It was exactly what she had been hoping for when she had been painstakingly making all those pieces with such care. This was exactly the thing that could give her the experience and connections she’d need to start her own brand. Or even just rise in the ranks of the fashion house, if that’s what she wanted to do. Either way, this was an amazing opportunity.

Marinette was so caught up in it that she had completely forgotten that there was going to be four people waiting inside her home for her. The instant she opened the door, there was cheering - although Alya made sure to be heard above the rest of them. 

It didn’t take long for them to notice that she was holding a letter. And once she explained to them what it was about, the cheering got even more enthusiastic.

Alya was squeezing her tight. “Girl, I told you! Didn’t I tell you? You’re wonderful, they were bound to figure it out eventually.”

“It’s gnarly! _I’ve_ heard of those dudes, and I don’t know anything about fashion at all.” Nino lightly punched Marinette’s shoulder. “You’re def in the big leagues now, bro.” 

“Yes, she is really moving up in the world,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes. “I believe that’s why we were here to celebrate?” She held up a bottle of wine and shook it. “Or do you guys want to spend a few more minutes patting each other on the back stone cold sober?” 

Cutting through the tension, Marinette dug some wine glasses out of the cabinet. “You’ve got a point.” She grinned at her former enemy. “Pour us some drinks, Chloe!”

Chloe blinked at her in surprise for a moment before grinning. “Finally, someone with some sense!”

\---------

Later that night (or perhaps more accurately, very early the following morning), Alya and Nino had finally dozed off. They were bundled together in a blanket, the picture of an adorable couple as they slept the deep sleep of the truly drunk. Adrien had ducked out of the room a few minutes ago and Marinette suspected that he had finally crashed in bed. Chloe hadn’t even made it anywhere comfortable, instead leaning down face first on the kitchen table. 

Marinette happened to be in the kitchen eating cheese and crackers when Kagami picked up Chloe as if she weighed nothing.

“Where are you two going?”

“Sorry,” Kagami began, “but I’m going to take Chloe home. She… tends to exaggerate her abilities when it comes to her alcohol tolerance. After everything that’s happened tonight… she’s going to want to wake up in a familiar bed. It’ll make the hang over just a little more tolerable.”

“Are you…” Marinette yawned, the long, long day finally catching up with her. “Are you going to be okay to drive?”

“I didn’t have anything to drink beyond the first glass of wine.” She paused. “It was a fine vintage, by the way. I always prefered French beverages over Japanese.”

There was a long silence between them. Without other people around to drive the conversation, they were left feeling awkward. Their friendship had started off well, but after Marinette and Adrien had started dating, it had soured it for a while. At least until Kagami made a discovery of her own. 

They were better now, but those old shadows of confusion and jealousy had left their mark. 

Kagami adjusted her grip on Chloe, holding her like she weighed nothing. It reminded Marinette that while Adrien had stopped fencing and training, Kagami never did. 

“I’ll see you later?” Marinette said, sounding more like an invitation than a goodbye.

Kagami gave a small smile. “Of course. I would love to. And Marinette?”

“Hm?”

“You were phenomenal today, and you deserve that internship. I wish you all the best.”

Without another word, Kagami opened the door and walked out of the house. After staring at the empty space where she had been for a few minutes, Marinette felt a small smile spread across her face. 

Ten minutes later, Marinette had curled herself into bed next to her handsome, warm boyfriend and dreamed peacefully.


	16. On the Rise

Letting out a long groan as her muscles relaxed in the sudsy hot water, Marinette tried to think of the last time she had gotten to take a bubble bath. It had to have been before she left the bakery since her tiny apartment didn’t have a tub big enough to relax in and she hadn’t used the one in this apartment until today.

Not for the first time, she wondered what her past self was thinking by settling for that terrible place. 

She took a deep breath and settled back against the scented wet towel she’d placed along the edge of the tub. It didn’t matter, she supposed. Now that she was out of that place, she didn’t have to worry about it again. Today, especially, she was planning on not worrying about anything at all. 

The music faded peacefully from one song to the next. The playlist had been a gift from Nino for her birthday - four hours of masterfully crafted instrumental music, each blending seamlessly into each other. No wonder he was doing so well working with Jagged Stone; Nino really understood music in a way most people could only hope. 

Closing her eyes, she took another deep breath to help herself get lost in the sound, but ended up smiling at the scent of lavender in the air. The candles stirred up memories from the previous week - Alya taking her out for a day of shopping to help get her mind off of the fashion show. Their stop at the candle shop and how they’d accidentally ended up wasting an hour there. Alya had teased Marinette when she got the lavender candles, despite her protests about how it was a relaxing scent.

After all, lavender was also the favorite scent of Adrien, who wore it so frequently that just catching a whiff of it had been enough to bring a smile to her face since she was fourteen. Even now, the scent had her grinning to herself. Remembering Adrien reminded her of something else. She peaked open an eye to check the door - the comfy set of pajamas Adrien had gotten her months ago while he was in Milan were hanging on the knob, ready for her to change into them the moment she was finished with her bubble bath. She let out a sigh of comfort. Sure, it wouldn’t be _that_ bad if she had to go and find it, given there wouldn’t be anyone else in the apartment, but that’s hardly how she wanted this to end. 

Tikki phased through the wall, yawning. “Good morning, Marinette! How’s your bath going?”

Marinette curled her toes as she stretched under the water. “I haven’t felt this relaxed since Christmas, so I’d say pretty good. What’s up?”

“I was just wondering about that internship.”

“What about it?”

“Just… in general. What does it mean? How long is it?”

“Well,” Marinette said, rising a little to make it easier to talk. “If it is like other internships, then it’ll be a lot of busy work and helping their main designers. I won’t be doing a lot creatively for them, but I can still learn a lot, and meet some people in the industry.” A sly smile graced her face. “And get paid, of course.”

“That’s good,” Tikki said, perking up. “How long will it be? Is it going to interfere with your studies?”

“No, it’ll just be for the summer. At least, that’s what the letter said. It also said they might extend it. They’ll be sure to keep my classes in mind, but I’d definitely have to cut back on the university clubs and stuff.”

Tikki frowned. “That’s too bad.” She landed on the side of the tub, tentatively sticking her feet into the hot water. “At least you had fun while you were in them, right?”

“Yeah… at least there was that.” 

They sat and listened to the music in silence for a few minutes before Tikki spoke up again. “When does it start?”

“Really soon, actually. Next week is orientation, then I get assigned to a designer and I get right into work.”

“Wow! That really is fast! I wonder what they would have done if you turned them down?”

Marinette shrugged. “A big name like that? Either they don’t expect anyone to turn them down or they can easily find someone who won’t, no matter how short notice they give.”

The conversation drifted along, Marinette slowly being drawn out of her pleasant stupor until she was ready to get out of the bath and start the day. A day which would mostly be consisting of watching her favorite shows until Adrien showed up… at which point she would start watching her favorite shows while cuddled up against him. 

Marinette smiled. It was good to have a plan.

\------------------------

“It’s just… this is absolutely huge and I’m so happy for her, you know?” Adrien stopped pacing as his tail continued to flick back and forth behind him. He looked back at Carapace, who was leaning against the brick wall with his arms crossed, a patient smile on his face. “But at the same time, it feels like I’m standing on sand. Its like everything is changing and I _think_ for the better, but…”

Carapace cut him off with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, I get what you mean. We went through something similar when we both got the jobs we have now.” He shook his head. “It was all so rough to start off, but we got into the swing of things. Now we’re feeling better than ever.” He put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “My dude, I know it’s scary right now, but it’s gonna be great. Just wait and see.”

“Thanks.” Adrien smiled, a little nervously. “And yeah, I know, I know. I’m excited, but… nervous too. She does tend to throw herself into things. Maybe this time-”

“-This time she’ll have you right by her side,” Carapace finished. “Just be there for her and you’ll both be fine.”

“Right.” Adrien sighed contently and sat down to look up at the full moon. “The future is looking pretty bright, huh?”

“Well, to start with, that’s the moon not the future.” Carapace snickered as Adrien smacked him on the shoulder. “...But yeah. You’re not wrong.” There was a long pause as they stared up at the inky blackness of the sky. The stars were drowned out by the light of the city below, making the moon look lonely as it shone above them. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future lately.”

“Is this the prelude to you proposing to me? ‘Cause I’m flattered, but I’ve already got a girlfriend, so I’ll have to pass.”

“Well, you aren’t _totally_ wrong…”

Adrien blinked at his best friend in surprise. Then his mouth fell open. “No way…” His eyes lit up and he turned to face Carapace. “Did you already get the ring? Where are you planning to do it?” He gasped. “We’ll need a band - and roses! I’ll-”

Carapace held his arms up in an x shape. “Woah woah, dude. As of right now, I’ve got no ring, no plan. It’s just been something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.” He settled back against the wall, head tilted up at the sky as he closed his eyes, a smile at his lips. “It’s just… I love this girl, man. I can’t imagine ever wanting to be without her. It’s not time just yet, but… not a lot longer. Soon.”

Adrien deflated a little. “How long is soon?”

“I dunno,” Carapace said with a shrug, still not opening his eyes. “A month? A year? Maybe a little more. I don’t want to rush this, and I’m more than happy to wait for just the right time.”

Considering this, Adrien leaned back against the wall and frowned. A few minutes of silence passed between them.

“So… is that a no on the band then…?”

Carapace snorted, which quickly turned into a laugh. A laugh which proved contagious as soon enough, Adrien was laughing along with him. 

\----------------------

A few days later and they were visiting their parents. They tried to have dinner with them once a week if they could manage it. It usually gave them the opportunity to catch up and swap stories and just recharge after doing their own thing. And it would only get harder to do once the internship started or when Adrien would start picking up more photoshoots during the summer fashion season. 

At the moment, Adrien and Marinette were in the kitchen with Tom, helping to make dinner. They were just putting the finishing touches on it when Adrien heard Sabine call from the living room.

“Tom? Kids?” Immediately, her voice put him on edge. There was an undercurrent of worry to it. Given how calm and collected Sabine usually was, it had to be something big to affect her. “Can you come in here? There is something on the television I think you should see.” 

Adrien exchanged a look with the others. From the looks on their faces, he could only assume that they had reached the same conclusion as him. They hustled out of the room and entered the living room just as Sabine was turning up the volume. 

There on the screen was Adrien’s face looking right back at him, with the headline, “Last Scion of Disgraced Agrestes paired with Rising Star of Fashion Industry.”

It felt as if a pit had opened up to swallow Adrien, that the very ground beneath his feet had betrayed him. All at once he was reminded of the days, the weeks, the _months_ that he had spent hounded by opportunistic journalists without a shred of dignity. His every waking - and often even sleeping - moment stalked, all in the hopes of selling a few more papers. 

He still had nightmares about that. But now it looked like that nightmare hadn’t ended. Not really. It reminded him that maybe it would never end. That he’d forever be haunted by the sins of his family. 

All that passed through his head in the span of a few moments, a downward spiral like a rocket crashing from orbit. It drove him to his knees, gripping fistfuls of his hair as tears ran down his face, muttering to himself in a quiet droning:

“Nononononono…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everybody! And a new decade as well. Hopefully you have a better time than Adrien is right now! :D


	17. Continuing On

The other shoe didn’t drop in exactly the way that Adrien was expecting.

Despite his worst fears, his life didn’t return to that tumultuous few months following the unmasking of Hawkmoth. The news outlet that had reported on Marinette and Adrien had been little more than a tabloid that got picked up for a hot minute. Besides a few inquisitive phone calls from rather polite journalists, nothing much came of it. 

Marinette hung up and sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table. “Where were all these well mannered reporters the first time? It would’ve saved us a heck of a lot of heartache if they had been there before.”

“Some of them were,” Tikki said from her spot on the table. “But polite whispers usually get drowned out in horrid shouting.”

“True.” Adrien put an omelette on a plate and set it in front of Marinette. She took a deep breath and sighed happily. “I’m super glad that I don’t have to sit in the apartment all day just to avoid getting ambushed.”

Marinette frowned. “I feel like there is a ‘but’ in there somewhere…”

“I’m sure you can find it if you keep feeling around,” Adrien joked. After a flicker of a smile passed over her face, her frown deepened.

“That settles it, then. You start with the lewd jokes when you’re trying to distract yourself. What’s got you so worked up, if it isn’t the news?”

Before he could stop himself, his eyes glanced treacherously towards the basket on the top of the fridge. Her eyes followed before understanding dawned. 

“Ah.” She said into the cavernous silence that followed, a hundred conversations hanging in the emptiness. “Those. Do you think he saw the news? And that’s why he’s gotten so… prolific?”

Adrien laughed, but it was an empty noise. Prolific, as if it were him making designs just like the old days. Designing, rather than sending Adrien multiple letters a day, hammering away at his hard-earned and tenuous peace of mind. Every time he saw that particular type of envelope, that flowing cursive handwriting, his heart pounded in his chest and his breathing became haggard. It had gotten to the point where Marinette had banned him from getting the mail, but even with her filtering out most of them, his curiosity was building.

What did his former father want? Did he have something to say about his and Marinette’s relationship? Was he finally turning over a new leaf? Did seeing how they had moved on without him make him pull his head out of his ass for the first time since mom died? Well, her _first_ death, that is. Adrien knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up, but… hope was something Adrien had always found hard to give up.

Which is why it was getting ever more tempting to give in and open one of those letters. Just one.

He was startled from his thoughts when a pair of slender arms wrapped around his chest from behind. Somehow, Marinette had snuck up behind him. He gladly took her hands in his as she spoke.

“You won’t find the answers you want to see in those letters, kitty. I promise. It’s just going to lead to more pain.” She sighed sadly. “But you know that already, don’t you?”

\------------------

The sweltering summer days gave way to the cool summer nights - a perfect time to patrol. Maybe not in the full body suits, but Marinette was just glad that they were much more breathable than they looked. Swinging across Paris felt great and she hated going without doing it for too long.

Of course, the exertion brought with it a heat all its own. Which is why Ladybug and Rena Rouge could be found high up near the top of the Eiffel Tower tonight, where the winds whipped and they could escape the warmth of the city for a little while. As a nice bonus, it also kept them far away from listening ears and prying eyes. A perfect place to chat.

“The internship is going great,” Marinette said as a way to break the quiet. 

Rena tilted her head to the side curiously, a look of confusion flickering across her face for a heartbeat. After a few moments, she smiled. “I’m glad to hear it, girl. It’s gotta be keeping you busy if you haven’t had time to talk about it. I was getting scared you were having an awful time over there.”

“Oh no no no, it’s been great!” Marinette began to warm up to the conversation .”I mean, yeah, they’ve really been keeping me active, but I actually enjoy that. After all these years, being idle just sorta feels… wrong, you know?”

“I get ya, girl.” Rena smiled as she leaned her head back, staring up at the inky black skies. “After that juggling act you pulled back in high school, it’s no wonder you keep putting more and more stuff on your plate. It must all be super easy compared to _that_.” 

“It’s easier than fighting a super villain a day for years, yeah. But it’s challenging in a different way. I can’t just summon a lucky charm in the workplace to get just what I need to fix things.”

“Now that’s just quitter talk,” Rena replied. They both giggled. “But seriously, if anyone can figure out the solution to something, it’s you. Your mind always worked on a whole different plane than the rest of us.”

“Thanks,” Marinette said with a small smile. “Although the biggest problems they have me solve is the fastest way to get my designer what they need - whether that’s a second look at their latest piece, a roll of fabric, or just a coffee depends on the day.”

Rena scrunched her nose. “Doesn’t seem that glamorous.”

“Maybe,” Marinette conceded. “But being a gopher is exactly how I ended up being such good friends with Uncle Jagged, remember? A little hard work pays off in the end.”

Humming in agreement, Rena let the conversation end there. At least for a few minutes before she disturbed the quiet with a question.

“You know, you avoided the elephant in the room pretty well. But it’s not like I don’t know about it already. Even if I wasn’t a journalist, it was all over the news for a hot second.”

“I just…” Marinette sighed and started again. “You didn’t see how he just folded in on himself when the news first broke. He was just so scared and broken.”

“Damn,” Rena said simply. “Is he feeling any better? I tried to scare off the worst of the lot to keep them off your backs.”

“That was you? Thank you so much!” Marinette hugged her friend and pulled away to groan. “He would be back to his usual self, I think… if it weren’t for his father sending letters daily now.”

Rena sucked in a sharp breath. “That bastard doesn’t know when to give in, does he?” She growled. “What does he want, anyway?”

Marinette shrugged. “I don’t know. We haven’t opened any of the letters.”

“You can’t hide from it forever. We both know how that man works. All the determination of his son without any of the compassion or self-examination.”

“Adrien did his confrontation already. I don’t think another is going to do anything but hurt him, especially since Gabe has had a lot more time to think about how he’s going to tear into Adrien.”

“I know. But I also know that you are the one who took him down in the first place, so I know you’ll find a way to stop him again.” Rena squeezed her hand and Marinette smiled at her.

“Thanks.” Marinette’s smile faded as she turned to look at the city. “I just hope I can figure something out soon. I’m worried for Adrien. And with his twentieth birthday coming up…”

“You think Gabe might have something up his sleeve?”

“I don’t know how he could, but he always was full of horrible surprises.” Marinette sighed and stood, stretching her legs. “Come on, let’s finish patrol.”

\----------------------

A couple weeks after the news had first broken and Adrien found himself back in the spotlight - however briefly - he now found himself with his head in Marinette’s lap. Her fingers worked their way through his hair as he poured his heart out to her. It wasn’t an unusual scene, but it had certainly been happening more frequently. 

During a lull in his venting, she said, “You’ve got a lot going on in here, kitty.” Her fingers traced a circle around one of his temples.

“I guess you could say that,” Adrien said as he rolled onto his back to look up at her.

“And you know I’m more than happy to help you however I can.”

“But…?”

“This might be more than I _can_ help you with. You might need to consider some professional help.”

Adrien grumbled. “Everybody seems to think so too. You. Nino. Alya.”

“Then it must be a good idea, huh? If the people who love you most are all saying the same thing?”

Adrien thought about the pain in his chest and for the first time since Nino had first brought it up, he really gave it some thought. It might take him a while to build up the courage, but… he wanted to start healing. And maybe he had gotten as far as he could get on his own. Maybe it _was_ time to find professional help.


	18. Birthday

Marinette almost wished that Gabriel weren’t in jail, just so she could have the opportunity to smack him upside his stupid, pointy-haired head one more time. As if the letters weren’t enough!

The man neglects his son for practically his entire life, leaving all child rearing duties to his wife or his employees. Instead of bonding, he builds his brand. So, naturally, what does such a business-centered person do to take care of his son? Start a bank account in his name and slowly divert funds into it. But lock it so that he can’t get access to it. 

Presumably, Gabriel had intended to explain all this at some point, but then again maybe he didn’t. Maybe it was meant to be a pleasant surprise for Adrien’s twentieth birthday, or maybe he was just using it as a convenient place to store money while pretending he was helping his son. Prison does tend to complicate these kinds of plans, after all.

Her anger took a backseat to worry when she looked over at her boyfriend. Adrien was still sitting on the couch, completely motionless as he stared into space, his hands over his mouth. If anything, she would have preferred that he yell or cry or pace, just _something_ besides this terrible silence. She shared a concerned look with the kwamis. Plagg gestured with his head towards the seat next to Adrien and gave her a little push.

Taking his prompting, Marinette sat down with Adrien for a few silent minutes. She knew he’d talk when he was ready to. Eventually, her patience was rewarded. 

“It’s a lot of money, lovebug.”

“No question.”

“I’m surprised nothing happened to it after… everything.” Adrien took a deep breath. “I already have enough money to live off of. At least for a while longer. And I’m not exactly between jobs either.”

“You aren’t wrong there.”

“I’m tempted to just turn it down, refuse to take any of it.” While he talked, she took his hand in hers and rubbed circles around the back of his hand like he often did for her. “It’s tainted money. I didn’t earn it, and it came from a horrible person. I don’t want to feel… indebted to him or something.”

“He made his choices. You get to make yours too. Whatever you do with that money is entirely up to you.”

Adrien considered this, drumming his fingers against his chin as he stared blankly at the wall. “I don’t know. Maybe I could shove it at charity, or maybe we can use it for some big project down the road. I just… I don’t know.”

“There’s no rush. We can decide later. _After_ your birthday party.”

Nodding absently, Adrien took a few moments before his head tilted in that very adorable way he did whenever he was confused. 

“Wait. Birthday party? I thought we were just staying in. Like with our anniversary.”

“Nope,” Marinette said matter of factly. “We’re going out to meet with our friends - all of the usuals, which took some major planning, let me tell you - and we’re getting all dressed up to do it. It’ll be at your favorite Italian place. But you need to act suitably shocked since this was all supposed to be a surprise.”

“Then why are you telling me now?”

“Because it means you can be excited right now and I want to see you smile again.” She cupped his cheek with one hand. “I know this thing came out of nowhere, but money or no, you have friends and family who love you and will put everything aside just to make your birthday special.”

Adrien bit down on his lips, his eyes getting misty as he watched her. Pulling her close, he whispered into her ear. “What did I do to deserve you?”

She squeezed him tight and replied, “That’s the thing. It’s what you always deserved. I’m just making up for lost time.”

\-------------------

As promised, the following day they went up to Adrien’s favorite Italian restaurant and found his closest friends waiting for him. It was high-class enough that all of them had dressed up for the occasion - even laid back Nino had pulled a nice suit out from somewhere. But, of course, it was hard to really appreciate what everyone was wearing when his eyes kept drifting back to the pretty red dress Marinette was wearing. 

Once they all met up just inside the restaurant, he was worried that between Alya and Chloe loudly singing a happy birthday song at him they might get thrown out. Thankfully, the restaurant was being very lenient with them - maybe some sympathy from the management after seeing him in the news again. He’d been coming here for a decade now and a lot of the older staff treated him as one of their own. 

His friends all took turns giving him hugs, although Nino got first dibs. Kagami, always a little distant, preferred to give a respectful bow. 

The topics of conversation had little to do with one another - one minute they would be talking about funny stories from where they were working, the next they’d be reminiscing about something embarrassing. The only common thread was how light hearted it all was. Adrien was grateful for it - thinking about the problems that were waiting for him was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

The meal passed in a pleasant blur, his gnocchi as delicious as it always was. After idly chatting for another half hour, they finally decided to leave. 

“So where are we heading next?” Adrien looked at Marinette, who smirked.

“Back home, sweetie,” Marinette said, squeezing his hand. “We’re taking it easy for the rest of the night. Get comfy, yell at bad movies, relax in our pjs, that sort of thing.”

Adrien looked toward his friends. “I guess that means you guys will be stopping at your places first? Unless you’ve secretly been wearing your pajamas underneath this whole time. If so, amazing work.”

Nino snorted. “Nah, dude. It’s hot enough in this already. We’ll be over in like twenty minutes tops.”

“Not us though,” Chloe said, a sad smile on her face. While she carried herself with the same proud demeanor as she usually did, Adrien could see hints of tension and fear. The way she was gripping Kagami’s hand, the emotion lurking just behind her eyes, that sort of thing. “We’ve got something we need to take care of at home.

Nino waggled his eyebrows and got an elbow from Alya. 

“Don’t sweat it,” Alya said. “We’ll take care of blondie. Do what you need to.”

A moment of understanding passed between the two girls. Chloe stepped up to Adrien and gave him one last hug.

“Good luck,” he whispered to her. As she let go, her lips were pressed into a thin line. She nodded and left. Once they were gone, Adrien turned to his remaining friends. “I guess we’ll see you two a little later then.” He wrapped an arm around Marinette’s waist and pulled her close, a wry grin spreading across his face. “We’ll try to keep from getting too wild and crazy while we wait.”

\--------------------

It turned out to be a long night. As much fun as he was having, Adrien could feel the weight of his worries pressing down on him constantly. It made any enjoyment feel fleeting, a momentary respite until he remembered everything again. 

At least, that’s how it felt until they piled all the pillows and blankets they could find in one big mess on the floor in front of the television. The wide open chaos of the cuddle pit made it hard to dwell on anything outside the moment, especially when the lights went out and the movies started playing. 

Just as promised, they were loud and laughing and in that space Adrien couldn’t help but follow suit. Here and now with his friends, he knew where he stood and who he was. He felt like he belonged, not stuck between lives. They finally fell asleep in close quarters, Marinette wrapped around his waist and Alya and Nino tangled together mere centimeters away, lit only by the flickering lights of the last movies credits. 

As Adrien drifted off to sleep after them, he felt at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these updates are a little late! Besides life being hectic, I picked up a new game that I got obsessed with. The next chapter of True Sight will probably be late as a result. Sorry!


	19. An Ode to Bad Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter to go! :D

It had been years since Adrien had last stepped into a fencing circle and today was the closest he had come to one since he’d quietly stopped practicing. Technically this was just practice fights that they were watching, but that didn’t stop him and Chloe from cheering just as if it were for real. Maybe it was that support or maybe it was just raw skill on her part, but Kagami effortlessly defeated all of her opponents. 

The red fencing suit Kagami wore had only changed slightly. Still as red as ever, but lacking the family crest and it had picked up a few patches from other cities - tournaments won abroad. It brought Adrien back to countless sparring matches between them. He grinned at his remembered victories - and fondly recalled his just as frequent defeats. By the time he finally hung up the mask and sabre for good, they were still completely tied.

Kagami removed her helmet and gulped in a breath of fresh air. “Thanks for showing up you two. Would you care to join me for some lunch at my favorite cafe? I realize it may not matter between us three, but I will gladly pay for you both.”

“Sure, I’ve got the whole day clear anyway. I’d love to catch up.” Adrien smiled. 

“Ridiculous! As if I would miss out on some quality time with my gorgeous girlfriend.” Chloe blew a kiss at Kagami whose only reaction was a small smile and a blush. 

“Excellent. I’ll take a quick shower, change, and met you out front.”

Half an hour later and they were seated at the cafe, food ordered and drinks already in front of them. After taking a deep drink of his smoothie, Adrien decided to start the conversation.

“So, Kagami. Do you usually breeze through your partners like that?”

She raised her glass of hot tea to her lips with both hands and took a sip. “Sadly, yes.” She sighed. “There isn’t much of a challenge left for me in that school, it seems like. I usually only find worthy opponents in the larger tournaments, but even then I am victorious more often than I am defeated.”

“Really? I remember that we were pretty evenly matched for a while.”

“You weren’t exactly the average fencer, Adrien. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something about you that was particularly challenging. You certainly had the reflexes of a natural born swordsman. And it seemed as if you were battle trained far longer than your training sessions would claim.”

Adrien thought about the nearly daily akuma battles that he had gone through during that time. The sparring sessions with Ladybug and eventually Rena Rouge and Carapace. No wonder she couldn’t place where he’d gotten so good from - there probably weren’t many other fencers who had actual fighting experience in a life or death situation. Heck, if it was that much of an advantage, maybe he should pick up the sport again. It would at least help Kagami improve if she had a good opponent again.

Before he could say anything aloud, he noticed Chloe take a deep breath. Her usual confidence seemed missing and she more subdued. She took Kagami’s hand and stirred her coffee.

“I bet you already figured this out, but on your birthday Kagami and I went back to my place… and called my mom.”

Adrien let out a long breath. “I thought that’s what you were doing, but… wow. How did it go?”

“Not great,” Chloe said with a wince. “After our pretty little chat, there was shouting and screaming, but honestly? I think that’s for the best. What I said needed to be said, whether or not she liked it. Besides, I’ve got people who love me here and she’s got nothing over me.”

The rest of the conversation turned into a venting session. Besides their upper class backgrounds, the one thing binding all of them together was their awful parents. Each of them had to deal with awful childhoods ranging from the micromanaged to forced expectations to spoiled rotten, but they all understood at least part of what they were going through. It was something they had been deprived of for most of their early years - peers, friends with experiences like their own. 

While Adrien vented, he felt dread pool in his stomach. He knew that his story with his father was not yet over.

\-------------------

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tikki said, worry on her face as she watched Marinette finish getting ready. 

“After everything I read?” Marinette’s expression was steely as she locked eyes with Tikki. “Absolutely. Someone needs to stand up for him. And who better than his partner - in love, life, and battle?”

Tikki nodded. “I know. I just needed to make sure you’d thought this through.”

“To be honest? I haven’t, really. But I have to do something and this is the best time to do it. I’ve got the afternoon free and no one is around to ask where I’m going.” Marinette opened her purse. “Come on, Tikki. We’ve got a bus to catch for downtown.”

Marinette closed the door to their apartment, the lights turning off behind her. She knew that Adrien was going to be out late with his friends, but just in case, she didn’t want to leave them out for him to find. It had taken a while, but she had managed to get all the letters back into their envelopes and stashed back into their basket. 

\-----------------

The soulless white lights did nothing to help give any color to Gabriel Agreste’s face. He’d aged decades since the last time Marinette had seen him. When had that been? The courtroom in the year before she went to university? She hadn’t wanted to go, but Adrien had to appear as a witness on the stand and she was NOT about to let him face his father without her. 

It had been hard to believe that this was the man who had tormented Paris for years, but it had only been a surprise briefly. The truth was that he had experience in tormenting people, starting with his own family. Inflicting his cruelty on the entire city once he got superpowers was only the logical course of action. 

Her trip down her own memories was cut short when his voice came through the speaker beside her. Being as high profile a prisoner as he was, he was behind bulletproof glass and they had to speak through a set of connected phones. 

“Where is Adrien? I need to speak with-”

“I read the letters,” Marinette said, cutting him off. Even after reading all of them and knowing that it was still the case, hearing him act like he was entitled to his son’s time infuriated her. 

“You _what_?” Gabriel growled, but she could see the confusion in his eyes.

“They all contain _excuses_, Gabriel.” Marinette narrowed her eyes at him as she continued. “About how there was no choice for you, about how you tried to bring Emilie back.” She took a deep breath. “I can almost see where you’re coming from.”

Gabriel seemed to relax a little. “I’m glad at least one of you has sense. Now-”

“It doesn’t justify any of the lives you disrupted or the people you hurt or the SON, you NEGLECTED…” Her voice had steadily rose until she was nearly shouting him down. After a few moments passed with him staring wide eyed at her, she continued, much more calmly. “...But I can see how certain events turned you into a super villain.”

She leaned forward on her elbows, the glare flaring to life on her face again. She kept her voice steady, an angry quiet in stark contrast to her earlier outburst. “What I _can’t_ see is how it turned you into a shitty father to a boy who’s a better person than any of us deserve. If you want Adrien to start healing, then stop writing to him and asking him to see your side.”

“He has to know what all this was for-!”

“Leave. Him. Be.” She growled out from between clenched teeth. “Give him distance. Maybe someday you two can salvage some semblance of a relationship.” She leaned forward until her face was nearly pressed up to the glass, her voice an angry whisper. “But if I have to watch his face crumple one more time when he sees your handwriting on a prison-issued envelope, if one more of your excuses triggers a breakdown or nightmare… you better hope your sentence gets extended. You’re not the only person who would do anything for the person they love.”

She hung up the phone and walked away. As she approached the door, she glanced back, expected Gabriel to be red faced, screaming at her. Instead, he had a thousand yard stare as he covered his mouth with his hands, shock etched into his features. Hopefully it would be a long while before he tried to reach out to his son again. 

Maybe now Adrien would finally be allowed to move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been looking forward to posting this chapter since I outlined it at the start of the series. It's always SO MUCH FUN to have Marinette give Gabe the lashing he deserves.


	20. Closure

Adrien rose from the couch feeling a little unsure, but vaguely better. The past couple hours weren’t quite what he had expected from his first therapy session. 

It was less of the probing questions from a serious looking professional and more just… a conversation. They talked about a lot of little things - what Adrien enjoyed making for dinner, his favorite television shows, how his friends were doing, that sort of thing. What they didn’t talk about was any of the things that were really weighing on him. At least, not in any depth. They just barely started touching on his feelings about his father when Adrien’s alarm went off - and this was an appointment he definitely did not want to miss. He was just surprised that two hours had gone by.

It left him with an uncomfortable sense of unease. Was he doing this right? Was he good at therapy, or did he find some way to be _bad_ at it? Some part of him was asking if he should have already tackled some big issue or another, get some sort of a start. His doubts must have shown on his face since his therapist asked him what was the matter. He said what was on his mind. To his relief, she just smiled.

“Adrien, we each heal at our own pace. You can’t be good or bad at it, you just make progress towards that goal.” She tapped at her notes. “If you’re still worried, then let me promise you today was an excellent start, especially for someone who had been so opposed to therapy in the first place. Sometimes, people don’t even mention the things really bothering them for several sessions.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm. And congratulations! You’ve already done the hardest part.”

“What’s that?”

“Asking for help.”

\---------------------

On the trip home, Adrien had time to think about his therapist’s parting words. By the time he walked into his shared apartment, he was feeling much lighter. It was as if a load had been lifted from him, one that had been placed there months ago. Maybe he should have taken his friends’ advice sooner?

As he closed the door behind him, he caught the scent of something delicious cooking. When he saw Marinette cooking in the kitchen, he was frozen for a moment, overcome by love and affection. A vision of a domestic life for the two of them in what might be the not-so-distant future flitted through his mind and left his heart full but yearning for more. Eventually she noticed him as she turned around to transport some noodles off the stove. 

Her surprise quickly transitioned into a bemused smirk. “You okay there, kitty? You got that silly look on your face again.” She walked up to him and rolled up on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips, gripping his shirt with both her hands. It only took him a moment to snap out of it and wrap his arms around her waist.

“That ‘silly look’ is called being madly in love, I’ll have you know,” he said as he leaned down to pepper kisses across her face.

“Hey, stop that!” She retreated from his loving assault, giggling all the while. “Tone it down a little, I’m almost done with dinner.”

“Whatever you say, princess,” Adrien said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the kitchen island. After watching her work for a few moments, he asked, “So classes are going to be starting up again soon, right?”

“Yup! And I gotta say, I’m actually pretty pumped about it. I feel like I could take on the world!” Marinette flexed her muscles to a round of applause from Adrien. After taking a bow, she moved the last of the meal off the stove and made the plates for the both of them.

As Adrien walked behind her to the living room couch, his eyes landed on a Sharry Baby orchid sitting on their windowsill. Suddenly, a wave of inspiration hit him. It would take a while to get moving, but it might be a good use of that trust fund money that was just sitting around…

“Kitty? You okay? You’re spacing again.” 

“Sorry, m’lady. Just thinking about stuff is all.”

“That’s the second time you’ve zoned out on me since getting through the door. Does this have anything to do with how your first therapy session went?”

Adrien paused, his fork laden with chow mein noodles halfway to his mouth. “I… Kind of? I mean, we talked a lot and I think I’m starting to feel better, but… It’s got me thinking about the future is all.”

“Huh. Well I’m glad things are working out at least. Are you ready for tomorrow?”

“Yeah. We’ve been putting off that visit for too long anyway.”

“My thoughts exactly. We better chat with him before things get too hectic. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

\-----------------------

With great care, Master Fu poured five cups of tea - three for human hands and two for kwami - before placing a wedge of cheese and a cookie out as well. 

He knew they would be here any minute, and he was very much looking forward to meeting with his two best students once again. It had been a difficult decision to allow them to keep their miraculous following the defeat of Hawkmoth, but he had not had cause to regret it thus far. If anything, allowing the kwamis to experience the world after a hundred years of isolation from it was making them even more prepared in case danger would appear again.

But most of all, Master Fu was enjoying his retirement with peace of mind that only the protection of four experienced superheroes could provide. The future was in good hands, whomever he decided would replace him as Guardian. 

A decision he would need to make soon, if the rapid whitening of his hair and the ever more pronounced creaking of his joints was anything to go by.

The bell to his shop sounded, drawing him from his reverie. Their laughter reached him first, bringing a wrinkled smile to his face. His observation from years ago came to mind - they really _were_ made for each other, even more so than he had thought. And, magical or not, they had plenty more adventures ahead of them. 

“Ah, Marinette, Adrien. Please, take a seat. I hear that we have much to catch up on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends Eating Habits, this part of the Lucky One series. But don't worry! This will not be the last entry in this series. I have a lot of other WIP that need my attention, and this year's round of daily prompts is coming up soon, so I don't know *when* the next entry will be posted, but I promise that it will come before the year is out. 
> 
> For now, I'll leave you with my tentative title for the new fic: "Adrien Agreste and the Long Delayed Proposal." Be sure to subscribe to the Lucky One series so you don't miss it!
> 
> And until the next story, thank you for reading.


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